Bangkok, April 3 (IANS) India and Thailand on Thursday agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership during extensive discussions held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra at the Government House in Bangkok. Both leaders held talks on various areas of bilateral cooperation and later witnessed the signing of several key agreements that add new vigour and dynamism to the longstanding friendship between the two nations. Besides the Joint Declaration on the establishment of India-Thailand Strategic Partnership, a MoU was also signed between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India on cooperation in the field of digital technologies.

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. Another MoU between India's National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) and Thailand's Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) was signed on cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises Two other 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.

In his remarks, PM Modi highlighted that India's 'Act East' policy and Thailand's 'Act West' complement each other very well and open up opportunities for bilateral cooperation in many fields. "We have emphasised on cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture and education between Thailand and the North-Eastern states of India. We discussed growing mutual trade, investment, and business exchanges. Agreements have also been made to foster cooperation in the areas of MSME, handloom and handicrafts," PM Modi said during the joint press statement with the Prime Minister of Thailand. "We have decided to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy, digital technology, e-vehicles, robotics, space, bio-technology and start-ups. In addition to enhancing physical connectivity, both the countries will work to boost FinTech connectivity," he added.

The Prime Minister stated that the talks focused on ways to deepen the India-Thailand Strategic Partnership, including sectors in strategic areas such as defence, security, maritime safety and hydrography. "We also reiterated our commitment to working together to overcome the challenges of terrorism, money laundering and more," said PM Modi. During the discussions, Prime Minister Modi also expressed solidarity with the people of Thailand in the aftermath of the earthquake a few days ago. PM Modi also mentioned that India fully supports ASEAN unity and ASEAN centrality. "In the Indo-Pacific, we both support free, open, inclusive and rule-based order. We believe in the policy of development, not expansionism," said PM Modi.

/IANS