The 9th Thailand-Myanmar High-Level Committee (HLC) Meeting was held yesterday at the Grand Ballroom of the Chatrium Grand Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, with senior military officers from both countries in attendance.
The Myanmar delegation was led by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services General Ye Win Oo, while the Thai side was led by Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces General Ukris Boontanondha. Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) General Ko Ko Oo and senior officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief and the Royal Thai Armed Forces also attended.
In his opening remarks, General Ukris Boontanondha said the HLC serves as the highest-level mechanism for cooperation between the two armed forces and plays an important role in strengthening their longstanding friendship and close relations. He highlighted the shared objectives of maintaining peace, stability and security along the two countries’ border areas and promoting better livelihoods, prosperity and sustainable development for their peoples.
General Ye Win Oo said the meeting aimed to enhance cooperation between the two armed forces, establish guidelines for military cooperation in addressing security issues along the border, and coordinate the continued work of the Regional Border Committee (RBC) and Township Border Committee (TBC). He also emphasized cooperation in maintaining peace, stability, security and socioeconomic development in Myanmar-Thailand border areas.
The meeting reviewed the outcomes of the 38th Regional Border Committee meeting held in Kengtung from 29 June to 1 July, as well as issues discussed by the Joint Secretariat Meeting. The two sides also discussed continued cooperation and regular exchanges between their armed forces.
During the HLC meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of issues, including reciprocal goodwill visits, military meetings and exchanges, agricultural cooperation, education and training, counterterrorism, military cultural exchanges, military medical cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Other areas included border stability and rule of law, narcotics control, combating online crime, maritime security and safety, prevention of transboundary forest fires and haze pollution, flood early-warning systems, and cooperation to address pollution in boundary rivers and waterways.
The two HLC chairmen approved the matters discussed at the meeting and signed and exchanged the agreements reached at the 9th Thailand-Myanmar HLC Meeting. Commemorative insignia were also exchanged. The Thai Chief of Defence Services additionally handed over two sets of air-pollution monitoring equipment to the Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services.
The Joint Secretariat Meeting for the 9th Thailand-Myanmar HLC was held in Bangkok from 16 to 19 August. The 10th Thailand-Myanmar High-Level Committee Meeting is scheduled to be hosted by Myanmar in 2027. — MNA/ST
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