Najib said the agreement between both neighbouring countries for the study was in line with the Asean Master Plan For Connectivity.
“We (Malaysia and Thailand) agree to set the motion for a possible HSR between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to complement the proposed HSR between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
“We believe increased connectivity will advance the economies of both countries and people-to-people relations of Malaysia and Thailand.”
Najib said this in a joint media conference with his Thai counterpart, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, after the conclusion of the annual consultation between Malaysia and Thailand at Government House here.
The HSR project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is expected to cut travel time to 90 minutes and is scheduled to kick off next year.
Najib also said he and Prayut had agreed to work hard towards achieving the target to increase bilateral trade between Malaysia and Thailand to USD30 billion in 2018.
Currently, bilateral trade between both nations stood at USD22 billion with Thailand remaining as Malaysia’s second largest trading partner in Asean.
Both leaders, he said, had also agreed to expedite the construction of the Rantau Panjang-Sungai Golok and Pengkalan Kubor-Takbai bridges from 2018 to the middle of next year.
The prime ministers of both countries, he said, had also agreed to upgrade the expansion of the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs complex to facilitate better border trade between the two countries.
Najib also said, Malaysia would maintain Thailand as one of its major sources of rice imports, with 40 per cent of a million tonnes of rice imports coming from Thailand.
A study would be carried out to explore the possibility of using land routes for rice imports from Thailand, he said, adding that it must not create smuggling problems.
Thailand’s prime minister, he said, had also proposed that both tourism authorities collaborate in joint tourism promotions.
Najib said, both leaders had a successful and fruitful annual consultation this year, but the discussion needed to be followed up with effective implementation.