Thailand's Prime Minister and his Malaysian counterpart agreed on Monday to jointly develop Thailand 's far south and northern Malaysia in an attempt to end the continuing violence in insurgency-torn region.

In a joint press conference after bilateral talks at Government House, Thai prime minister Surayud Chulanont said the two neighbors will work together to develop common border area as they deem it vital to bring about peace and prosperity to benefit both countries.

Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged to cooperate with Thailand in solving the dual nationality using biodata records to identify cross-border migrants, the Thai News Agency said.

Thailand has claimed that some insurgents holding dual nationality often fled across border for refuge after attacks in Thailand's three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

The Thai premier dismissed concerns by Malaysia last week that the rising violence may turn Thailand's restive region into a breeding ground for international terrorists.

"We are confident that through joint intelligence sharing with Malaysia, the unrest in far south is Thailand's internal issue, and there is no connection to international terrorism," he said.

The two neighbors foreign ministers will discuss further how to work out in detail the arrangements before reporting to their prime ministers for their final decision, Prime Minister Surayud said.

Source: Xinhua