India–Thailand relations

Indian–Thailand relations

India	Thailand

Diplomatic relations between India and Thailand were established in 1947, soon after India gained independence. The end of the Cold War led to a significant enhancement in the substance and pace of bilateral interactions. India's Look East policy from 1993 and Thailand's Look West policy since 1996 set the stage for a substantive consolidation of bilateral relations. The past few years since 2001 have witnessed growing warmth, increasing economic and commercial links, exchange of high-level visits on both sides, and the signing of a large number of Agreements leading to a further intensification of relations. Thailand and India are cooperating in various multilateral fora like India's dialogue partnership with ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the East Asia Summit, the sub-regional grouping BIMSTEC involving Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan, and trilateral transport linkages with Thailand, Myanmar and India. India is a member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) initiated by Thailand in 2002 and of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), a group of six countries.

Thai embassy in India is located in New Delhi, with three consulates in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. India holds its embassy in Bangkok and one consulate in Chiang Mai.

Moreover, India has had a deep influence on Thai culture. There are a substantial number of words in Thai that are borrowed from Sanskrit, India's classical language. Pali, which was the language of Magadha and is medium of Theravada, is another important root of Thai vocabulary. Buddhism, the major religion of Thailand, itself originates from India. The Hindu story of Ramayana is also well-known throughout Thailand in the name Ramakien.

Recent Developments

Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Prime Minister of Thailand, paid a State visit to India during 4-5 April 2011 at the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India. Both leaders agreed to increase the cultural interaction, connectivity and enhancement of trade and economic through the bilateral and regional frameworks viz. ASEAN-India, BIMSTEC and MGC. It was also decided to increase the trade between two countries from its 2010 figure of $6.7 billion to its double in 2014.

See also

• India Thai Business Forum