Bangkok – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has been seeking greater ties with India while attending this week’s ASEAN-India Summit.
The Prime Minister held talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday in New Delhi, touching on issues such as digital cooperation, India’s Smart Cities and Digital India policies, Thailand’s Thailand 4.0 and Eastern Economic Corridor goals and security ties. Prime Minister Modi acknowledged Thailand’s role as an important maritime neighbor to India during the discussions and called for closer ties based on the relationship.
The two leaders also agreed to boost tourism links between their nations before Gen Prayut confirmed to his counterpart that Thailand and ASEAN are ready to enhance creative ties with India. Thailand is set to become ASEAN’s coordinator with India in August of this year.
Gen Prayut afterwards attended the ASEAN-India retreat, which focused on maritime security. The retreat acknowledged the importance of waters between India and ASEAN to their economic prosperity and that it is in their best interests to jointly maintain regional stability.
The ASEAN-India Summit also marks the 25th anniversary of the two entities ties, and brought together the 10 leaders of the bloc in time to celebrate India’s Republic Day on Friday.
