Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met with her Malaysian counterpart Najib Tun Razak at the fifth annual consultation to strengthen friendship and reaffirm the close partnership between the two countries.

The fifth consultation took place during the Thai PM’s one-day visit on February 28 to Malaysia at the invitation of the Malaysian Government.

On the day, the two countries signed a Cross-Border Agreement to replace the 'Traffic Across the Boundary between the Malay States and Thailand ', which was signed in Bangkok on June 24, 1940.

Home Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein was quoted as saying that the new agreement will enhance security and facilitate cross-border movements between the two countries.

Prior to Yingluck’s visit, in Kuala Lumpur, the Thai Government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group signed a deal to formally start peace talks, aimed at ending a nine-year conflict that has claimed 5,500 lives.

Earlier on February 27 also in Kuala Lumpur, the Filipino Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed an Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities (TAM), paving a way to establish Bangsamoro region which takes the place of southern Philippines’ Mindanao Muslim autonomous region.

The move is part of a peace agenda after the two sides signed a historic agreement on October 15, 2012, marking an end to conflict in Mindanao and look toward a final peace deal by 2016.-VNA