KUALA LUMPUR: Thai officials are working to reschedule the signing of a deal with Cambodia to be witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump to 12pm on Sunday (Oct 26).
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said they are trying to move the time of the signing of the deal with US and Malaysian officials earlier to 12pm on Sunday, rather than later the same afternoon.
Nikorndej said Cambodia has agreed to Thailand’s proposal to allow Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul time to leave for Thailand to attend the Queen Mother Sirikit’s funeral procession.
“We are working with the US and Malaysia right now to move it forward to 12pm if possible. We are in the process of talking to both,” he said to reporters in a press conference at KLCC on Saturday.
The Thai Royal Household Bureau announced on Saturday the passing of Queen Mother Sirikit at age 93, whose son is King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Nikorndej said Anutin is likely to attend the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits on Sunday (Oct 26).
Meanwhile, Nikorndej clarified that the new deal between Thailand and Cambodia is not a ceasefire deal, and instead, it is referred to as the “Joint Declaration of Relations of Thailand and Cambodia”.
“Why? Because it’s a declaration that states that Thailand and Cambodia are committed to renewing relations and working on the resumption of normalisation of diplomatic ties and relations,” said Nikorndej.
Nikorndej said Thailand and Cambodia, in the past two meetings, have discussed plans to cooperate on combating transnational crime, removing land mines and heavy artillery along the borders, and the management of the border area.
“The work has just begun. We are hoping for the best. We are hoping for sincerity, goodwill and honesty from Cambodia after this joint declaration,” he said.
“We are looking forward towards a more peaceful border,” he added.
Initially, Anutin cancelled his trip to Malaysia following the passing of Queen Mother Sirikit.
But, he later told reporters that he will be in KL to sign the deal with Cambodia on Oct 26, but will return to Thailand after that.
Anutin said he would not attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in South Korea next week.
Trump is expected to arrive in KL on Oct 26 morning and he is set to witness Cambodia and Thailand sign a deal after he helped broker an end to a five-day border conflict in July.
In July, over 40 people were killed when tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupted into the deadliest military clashes in decades.
