Thailand's Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram today said his government was still in control of southern Thailand despite soaring sectarian violence.

"We can cope. We definitely can cope," he told reporters, referring to the three years of separatist unrest in Thailand's Muslim-majority provinces.

Nitya arrived Thursday for talks with the Malaysian government dominated by the insurgency raging in Thailand's south, which borders northern Malaysia.

He said an hour-long meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Friday centred on "future modes of cooperation" to address problems in the region.

Unemployment and poverty are major concerns in the troubled area, according to residents there.

Nitya met his Malaysian counterpart Syed Hamid Albar Thursday and agreed to map out a series of social and economic measures to end the bloody violence, which has killed 2,000 since 2004.

Blame it on poverty

Syed Hamid blamed poverty, rather than a clash between Buddhists and Muslims, for the crisis.

"We would like to see economic progress. Our immediate attention is how the violence can cease," he said after the meeting.

Thai Muslims in the kingdom's south share close cultural links with neighbours in majority Muslim Malaysia, and Syed Hamid said his country would also help Bangkok to better understand its minority population.

"There is a wealth of material that we could learn and could borrow from this country," the Thai foreign minister said.