Declaration on the Establishment of India-Thailand Strategic Partnership

Syllabus : GS 2/IR

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Thailand to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

India-Thailand Strategic Partnership

• Historical Background :   India and Thailand share a long history of warm and cordial relations, with diplomatic ties established in 1947.
  • Both countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of these relations in 2022. 
• Cooperation areas  :  bilateral ties cover a broad range of areas, including trade, investment, defence, security, connectivity, culture, tourism, education, science, and technology, as well as people-to-people exchanges.
  • Thailand’s ‘Act West’ policy complements India’s ‘Act East’ policy, and Thailand is an important maritime neighbor to India.
• Multilateral framework : Regionally, Thailand plays a key role in various multilateral frameworks with India, such as ASEAN, the East Asia Summit (EAS), BIMSTEC, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and ACMECS, reinforcing their strong and strategic partnership.
• Defence Cooperation: India and Thailand’s defence ties are formalized through the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation, signed on January 25, 2012.
  • These include regular defence dialogues, joint maritime patrols, annual staff talks, training exchanges, and participation in trilateral/multilateral military exercises.
• Economic & Commercial Cooperation: Bilateral trade between India and Thailand has significantly increased in recent years.
  •  In FY 2023-2024, Thailand was India’s 21st largest trading partner, with a total trade value of approximately USD 14.94 billion. 
  • In 2024, India became Thailand’s 11th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching around USD 17.5 billion.
• Cultural and Tourism Cooperation and Connectivity: The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Bangkok, opened in 2009, promotes cultural ties.
  • The India-Thailand Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for 2022-2027 was signed in December 2022. 
• Tourism: India and Thailand are closely connected by over 400 weekly flights across 15 Indian cities.
  • In 2024, around 2.1 million Indian tourists visited Thailand, making up 6% of the total foreign visitors.
  •  To enhance people-to-people ties, India offers a 30-day e-tourist visa to Thai nationals, and Thailand has extended a 60-day visa-free entry for Indian passport holders.
• Education Cooperation: The MoU on Education Cooperation was signed in 2005. India offers about 75 scholarships annually to Thai nationals and 1,000 Ph.D. fellowships to ASEAN countries, including 100 for Thailand.
• Indian Diaspora in Thailand: The Indian-origin population in Thailand is estimated at 4-5 lakh, including over 25,000 NRIs. 
• Latest Developments:   Both countries discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including defence, trade, education, health, culture, and security.
  • Several MoUs were exchanged, and a new India-Thailand Strategic Partnership was established, aimed at strengthening their relationship across various sectors.

Source :PIB