The Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC) is mobilizing efforts to support the establishment of an international language institute to promote the use of foreign languages as a major mechanism to develop the southern border provinces.

Referring to the progress of the establishment of the international language institute, SBPAC Deputy Secretary-General Chanathan Saengphum said that emphasis is placed on developing language skills in English, Malay, and Arabic. The SBPAC has carried out many activities to support this project.

For instance, it organized a meeting on 27 May 2023 to listen to the views of Thai small entrepreneurs wanting to work in Malaysia on English and Malay language skill development, in order to improve their use of foreign languages, which will provide them with greater trade and income opportunities.

On 9-14 June, the SBPAC held activities to raise awareness of the setting of the international language institute among teachers of the Arabic language in Islamic schools in the deep South. The activities aimed to promote public participation in the project.

On 9 June, the SBPAC held a meeting with representatives from the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok and the Indonesian Consulate in Songkhla to discuss cooperation in cultural exchange between the youth and local residents in the deep South and those in Indonesia. The discussion also touched on the issue of the international language institute.

On 23 June, SBPAC Secretary-General Rear Admiral Somkeart Ponprayoon and Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek, in her role as a special representative of the Government for tackling problems in the deep South, discussed skill development for students with the knowledge of the Arabic language to attend job training at the Bangkok Hospital.

Southern young people from Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Princess of Naradhiwas University, Yala Rajabhat University, and Fatoni University, as well as those who graduated from abroad and have not yet been employed, will be selected to attend the training program as interpreters. The program will last two months and trainees will receive an allowance.

In the next step, the SBPAC will join experts in the Malay language in implementing a project to open a center for Malay language and culture in the southern border provinces. The project will later connect with other countries in the Malay Peninsula, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei Darussalam.