BANGKOK: Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to carry out a feasibility study for a high speed rail (HSR) route between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the agreement was reached in his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha at Government House here in conjunction with his first official visit to Thailand.

"We discussed the future need of building a high speed rail between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Malaysia is conducting a study to implement the HSR.

"We have asked the related ministries and departments to take immediate action," he told a media conference with Malaysian journalists here today.

Also in the talk was Malaysia-Thailand connectivity projects and both countries concurred that the expert working group as well as the technical committee should expedite consultations on constructing a road alignment linking the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex with Sadao Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Songkhla, southern Thailand

Apart from that, both leaders also agreed to resume consultations on implementing two friendship bridge projects across Sungai Golok in Kelantan which is the second Rantau Panjang-Sungai Golok bridge and the new bridge between Pengkalan Kubor and Tak Bai.

Malaysia and Thailand have forged diplomatic ties for 65 years since Malaysia gained independence in 1957.

Ismail Sabri said both of them also stated their commitments to boost cooperation under the framework of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) especially through the implementation of Physical Connectivity Projects (PCP)

"It is important for Malaysia and Thailand to give focus to the three main focus areas namely Agriculture and Agro-based Industries; Tourism as well as Halal Products and Services; and the realisation of the integrated, innovative, inclusive and sustainable 2036 IMTGT Vision," he said.

-- BERNAMA