Seven MoUs inked with Thailand as PM continues to ‘look east’

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, arriving in Bangkok from Tokyo today for a two-day visit to Thailand, has already overseen the signing of as many as seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in various fields.

The memorandums already signed or on the anvil include cooperation in outer space, information technology, education, financial intelligence units to check money laundering, and extradition of wanted persons.

Other issues cropping up in discussions between Singh and Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra included geo-politics, the trilateral highway project between India, Thailand and Myanmar, defence, science and technology, education, and culture.

A high-level delegation is accompanying Singh to reinforce India's 'look east' policy to reduce its dependence on Western markets. Thailand is seen as a gateway to the ASEAN region.

An 'early harvest scheme' which is part of the free trade agreement between the two countries has been in place since January 2010, resulting in tariff exemptions for 84 items.

Two-way trade between the two countries reached $9.2 billion in 2012-13.

Ahead of Singh's visit, the Thailand foreign ministry said the bilateral meeting "reflects the desire of the two sides to elevate Thai-Indian relations to a strategic partnership, as announced in January last year".

Frequent exchanges of high-level bilateral visits reflect the closer relations between the two nations as well as the 'look West' policy of Thailand and 'look East' policy of India, the ministry said in a statement.

National security advisor Shivshankar Menon, principal secretary to the prime minister, Pulok Chatterjee, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai, and other senior officials are accompanying Singh.

In a speech at a banquet hosted by Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra, Singh said India admires ''the way you have steered the industrious people of Thailand through the calamity of nature in 2011 and the turmoil of the global economic downturn.

''Thailand, by making giant strides towards development, has once again lived up to its ancient reputation as the Suvarnabhumi in our part of the world.''

Prime Minister Singh further said, ''Your milestone State Visit to India as the chief guest for our Republic Day celebrations last year took our bilateral relations to a new level. It has been a privilege to work with you in the cause of our relationship and our region.

"Madame Prime Minister, no visitor to this bustling city would miss the indelible imprint of our ancient links of civilization, culture and commerce. The timeless message of Lord Buddha and the shared lore of the Ramayana make us kindred in spirit.''