Defence Services C-in-C holds meetings with Thai Chief of Defence Forces, Thai Minister of Defence

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of Defence Services Gener­al Ye Win Oo, currently in Bangkok, Thailand, to at­tend the 9^th Thailand- My­anmar High Level Commit­tee Meeting, was welcomed by Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces General Ukris Boon­tanondha on the morning of 19 August.

The ceremony was also attended by Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) General Ko Ko Oo, senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief and Myanmar Military Attaché (Army, Navy and Air) Brig-Gen Win Thu Lin. The Thai Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces was accom­panied by Deputy Chief of Defence Forces for the Royal Thai Armed Forces Air Chief Marshal Seksun Chaiyamert and senior mil­itary officers.

The Command­er-in-Chief of Defence Services and the Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces took the salute of the Guard of Hon­our and inspected it.

At the office of the Chief of Defence Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, they held a meeting. At the meeting, they focused on the long-lasting history of Myanmar and Thailand as good neighbours, im­plementation of the agree­ments between the two countries, improvement of cooperation, maintenance of the border region peace and stability as essential needs for both countries to develop border trade between the two countries, control of illegal trade in border regions, dismen­taling buildings of online scams and gambling hubs by Myanmar in Kyaukkhet and Shwe Kokko areas at the border region of both countries, efforts of Myan­mar to root out the online scams and gambling as a national duty, the efforts of Myanmar to eradicate drug trafficking as a national duty in accord with the guidance of the President, potentials for jointly controlling the cross-border crimes and arms smuggling activities, cooperation of Myanmar in ASEAN, Tatmadaw’s efforts to safeguard Our Three Main National Causes as the national duty under the leadership of the govern­ment, exchange of trainees for training, sports contin­gents and cultural troupes between the two countries and two armed forces, re­ciprocal visits of relevant positions between the two armed forces, and strength­ening friendly relations and cooperation between the two armed forces.

The Command­er-in-Chief of Defence Ser­vices also called on Minister of Defence of Thailand Lt- Gen (Retd) Adul Boontham­charoen at the latter’s office in Bangkok on 19 August.

At the reception hall of the office, they held a meet­ing on efforts to strengthen the existing friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries and the two armed forces, the sit­uation regarding the deci­sive actions, investigations, and legal crackdowns being carried out against perpe­trators and individuals in­volved in online fraud and gambling operations, in collaboration with inter­national organizations and neighbouring countries, ongoing cooperation under the Myanmar-Thailand-La­os trilateral Joint Plan of Action: Clear Sky Strategy (2024-2030) regarding the prevention of transbound­ary forest fires and haze pollution, expressions of gratitude for providing necessary assistance and conducting training pro­grammes for forest fire monitoring, transboundary water quality cooperation, further collaboration on maintaining peace, stability, and the rule of law in bilat­eral border areas, combat­ting illicit goods trafficking and counter-terrorism and exchange of information, as well as the prospects for elevating bilateral coopera­tion across all sectors.

After the meeting, the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and the Thai Minister of Defence exchanged commemorative gifts. — MNA/TTA