India and Thailand share robust bilateral ties. In 2022, the two countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both the countries share a vision of a multilateral rules based international order where the voice of the developing countries or the Global South can be more assertive. Both India and Thailand are also important Member States of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the largest collective gathering of the countries of the Global South.
The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Thailand from April 3 to April 4, 2025, and his meeting with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, has further bolstered the bilateral ties between the two countries. Modi’s trip to Bangkok marked the first official visit by an Indian leader in 12 years to Thailand.
An important outcome of PM Modi’s visit was the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of India-Thailand Strategic Partnership. According to an official statement, the Strategic Partnership is based on mutual commitment to strengthen bilateral relations for the continuing peace, stability and prosperity of the two countries and their respective regions. The Strategic Partnership will serve as an important foundation for the two countries to chart a future-oriented and mutually beneficial path towards increasing opportunities, closer cooperation and to jointly respond to common challenges. The Strategic Partnership will build upon existing agreements and mechanisms of cooperation which encompass partnering in political, defence and security, trade and investment, connectivity, education, socio-cultural development and people-to-people exchanges, as well as other areas of mutual interest.
In the context of regional and sub-regional groupings, Thailand is an important partner of India including in the ASEAN; the East Asia Summit (EAS); the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC), the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS). PM Modi remarked during the visit that Thailand holds a special place in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and the Indo-Pacific vision.
The two leaders reviewed the entire range of bilateral cooperation between India and Thailand. They discussed ways to further strengthen political exchanges, defence & security partnership, strategic engagement, trade & investment and people-to-people ties. While doing so, they underlined the need to enhance connectivity, health, science & technology, start-up, innovation, digital, education, culture and tourism collaborations. They also discussed ways to deepen cooperation for countering transnational organised crimes including human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, and cyber scams. The two Prime Ministers exchanged views on global issues and discussed ways of forging closer cooperation in sub-regional, regional and multilateral fora, including BIMSTEC, ASEAN and Mekong Ganga Cooperation.
India and Thailand have also decided to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy, digital technology, e-vehicles, robotics, space, biotechnology and start-ups. In addition to enhancing physical connectivity, both the countries will work to boost FinTech connectivity. This was evident in the MoU between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of the Republic of India on Cooperation in the field of Digital Technology and the MoU between National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC), the Republic of India and Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), the Kingdom of Thailand on cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
A MoU between Sagarmala Division of India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Thailand’s Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture was signed for development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat. Two others key MoUs signed included between the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and between North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC) of India and Creative Economy Agency (CEA) of the Government of Thailand.
The two countries agreed to play vital roles in promoting connectivity between South Asia and Southeast Asia, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters after a meeting with her counterpart Narendra Modi at Government House on Thursday. The two nations will aim to speed up the 1,300-kilometre highway project that will begin from northeastern India and traverse through Myanmar before reaching northern Thailand.
Reaffirming the strong cultural bonds between India and Thailand, the Thai government released a special postage stamp depicting 18th century Ramayana mural paintings to mark Prime Minister’s visit. Underlining the close cultural and religious connections between the two countries, Prime Minister was presented a special edition of Buddhist holy scriptures TI-PITAKA in Pali by Prime Minister Shinawatra. As a gesture to further deepen the close civilizational ties between India and Thailand, Prime Minister offered sending Lord Buddha’s Relics excavated from Gujarat to Thailand, for people to pay their respect. Last year, the Holy Relics of Lord Buddha and two of his disciples had travelled from India to Thailand, and over 4 million people had paid their respects.
