{"id":45659,"date":"2025-04-04T02:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T20:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45659"},"modified":"2025-10-14T10:52:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T05:22:40","slug":"india-thailand-strategic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-thailand-strategic-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"India-Thailand Strategic Partnership: PM Modi\u2019s Visit Reinforces \u2018Act East\u2013Act West\u2019 Synergy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India-Thailand Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Historical and Cultural Linkages<\/li>\n<li>Political Relations between India and Thailand<\/li>\n<li>Economic and Commercial Relations<\/li>\n<li>The Indian Diaspora in Thailand<\/li>\n<li>News Summary<\/li>\n<li>India-Thailand Strategic Partnership FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>India-Thailand Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Thailand on a two-day visit to attend the 6th <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/about-bimstec\/\" target=\"_blank\">BIMSTEC<\/a> summit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Historical and Cultural Linkages<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India and Thailand share civilizational ties rooted in history, culture, and religion.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Buddhism, which originated in India, remains a key spiritual bond between the two countries.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Ancient linkages through maritime trade routes and cultural exchanges, such as the adaptation of the Ramayana in Thai folklore as <i><strong>Ramakien<\/strong><\/i>, have ensured a long-standing mutual cultural appreciation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Indian influence is visible in Thai architecture, language (Sanskrit-Pali roots), traditional medicine, and performing arts.<\/li>\n<li>Thailand has historically acknowledged these ties, recently reaffirmed by the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp based on the Ramayana mural paintings during PM Modi\u2019s 2025 visit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Political Relations between India and Thailand<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India and Thailand share warm and friendly political relations rooted in historical and cultural ties.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The relationship gained momentum after India launched its <strong>&#8216;Look East Policy&#8217;<\/strong> in the early 1990s, which evolved into the <strong>&#8216;Act East Policy&#8217;<\/strong> under Prime Minister Modi.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Thailand, in turn, has embraced its <strong>&#8216;Act West Policy&#8217;<\/strong>, seeking deeper engagement with South Asia.<\/li>\n<li>Both nations support multilateralism and collaborate closely in regional forums like <strong>ASEAN<\/strong>, <strong>BIMSTEC<\/strong>, <strong>ADMM-Plus<\/strong>, and the <strong>East Asia Summit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Economic and Commercial Relations<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India and Thailand are important economic partners within Southeast Asia.<\/li>\n<li>During FY 2023-24, <strong>Thailand was the 21st largest trading partner of India<\/strong> with total bilateral trade of around <strong>USD 14.94 Billion<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Thailand is part of India\u2019s regional trade ambitions through ASEAN and BIMSTEC.<\/li>\n<li>There is a push to enhance mutual investments, MSME collaboration, and connectivity through initiatives such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Indian Diaspora in Thailand<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Indian community in Thailand, estimated at over <strong>250,000<\/strong>, includes both historical and recent migrants.<\/li>\n<li>They are primarily engaged in trade, jewellery business, hospitality, and various service sectors.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Indians are well integrated into Thai society and have contributed to strengthening people-to-people ties.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Prominent Indian-origin associations and Buddhist spiritual networks further bridge societal connections between the two nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>News Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Upgrading to a Strategic Partnership<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>During his two-day visit to Thailand in April 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a &#8220;<strong>Strategic Partnership<\/strong>&#8221; following delegation-level talks with Thai PM <strong>Paetongtarn Shinawatra<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This development signifies a deepening of ties in security, trade, and regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The leaders agreed to establish a <i>Strategic Dialogue<\/i> between security agencies of both nations, signalling enhanced maritime and defence cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indo-Pacific Vision and Regional Connectivity<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Reaffirming India\u2019s support for <i>ASEAN Centrality<\/i> and <i>Unity<\/i>, PM Modi underlined the shared vision of a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>He contrasted India\u2019s developmental approach (<i>vikaasvaad<\/i>) against expansionism (<i>vistaarvaad<\/i>), sending a clear message in line with India&#8217;s evolving geopolitical stance in Asia.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>PM Modi also reiterated India\u2019s commitment to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which both countries are a part of.<\/li>\n<li>Ahead of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, he stressed BIMSTEC\u2019s role in boosting regional connectivity and trade.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>A key agenda item included the signing of an Agreement on Maritime Cooperation, a strategic component given India\u2019s and Thailand\u2019s maritime interests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cultural Diplomacy and Symbolic Gestures<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In a powerful gesture of soft diplomacy, Thailand gifted PM Modi with the <i><strong>World Tipitaka: Sajjhaya Phonetic Edition<\/strong><\/i>, symbolizing shared Buddhist heritage.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This version was specially published in 2016 to commemorate the 70-year reign of Thai monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>India-Thailand Strategic Partnership FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What major development occurred during PM Modi\u2019s 2025 visit to Thailand?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> India and Thailand elevated their bilateral ties to the level of a Strategic Partnership.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>What sectors saw new cooperation agreements during the visit?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>New cooperation areas include MSMEs, handlooms, handicrafts, tourism, and education.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>How does the India-Thailand partnership align with the Indo-Pacific strategy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Both countries support a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific order.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>What cultural gesture did Thailand make during PM Modi\u2019s visit?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Thailand issued a postage stamp based on Ramayana murals and gifted PM Modi the Tipitaka scriptures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>What regional platform did PM Modi engage with during the visit?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> PM Modi participated in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit held in Thailand.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/pm-modi-thailand-visit-bimstec-summit-pm-shinawatra-9922779\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PM Modi\u2019s Thailand visit strengthened India-Thailand ties to a strategic level, with key BIMSTEC outcomes and deep-rooted cultural, economic, historic links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}