Bilateral trade with India is at all-time high: Thai envoy

With a “convergence of India’s Act East Policy and Thailand’s Look West Policy”, the bilateral trade volume last year reached almost $15 billion which is an all-time high, Thai ambassador to India Pattarat Hongtong has said. Speaking at a reception in the capital ahead of Thailand’s National Day that will be celebrated on Monday, she added that people-to-people exchanges are thriving, with Indian travellers numerically ranking at the top among all nationalities of international travellers who travelled by air to Thailand this year.

The Thai National Day is celebrated on December 5 every year and marks the birth anniversary of Thailand’s former King Bhumibol Adulyadej who passed away in 2016 after a long and successful reign.

The Thai envoy recalled the former Thai King’s “lifetime work on sustainable soil utilisation and management” and declaration of December 5 by the United Nations as the “World Soil Day” which this year will be celebrated under the theme of “Soils, where food begins”. She pointed out that this also reflects the “contribution of healthy soils in ensuring food security, which also coincides with India’s priority for G20 presidency”.

Speaking about bilateral ties, the Thai ambassador said: “On the political front, there have been regular contacts between our two leaders and ministers. The ninth joint commission on bilateral relations meeting chaired by our foreign ministers was held in Thailand on August 16. In the economic sphere, our bilateral trade volume in 2021 reached almost $15 billion, recorded as all-time high. There are around 38 Thai companies investing in India in the fields of infrastructure, agro-processing and automotive, and many more are currently navigating to expand their footprint in India.”

Ms. Hongtong further said: “The year 2022 is very special for Thailand and India. The75th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations has been celebrated through various activities both in India and Thailand to reconnect the people and promote a closer cooperation between the two countries in all areas in the post Covid.”

‘THERE ARE around 38 Thai companies investing in India in the fields of infrastructure, agroprocessing and automotive, and many more are currently navigating to expand their footprint in India’