PM Modi meets ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, discusses boosting India-Thailand ties

Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his former Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra here on Thursday during which they discussed ways to enhance India-Thailand cooperation, focusing on key areas such as defence, trade, and culture.

Modi described the meeting as a “delight” and praised Shinawatra's extensive experience in governance and policy-making.

In a post on X following their discussion, the prime minister shared some photographs of the meeting and said, "It was a delight to meet Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand. He has extensive experience in matters relating to governance and policy making."

Modi noted that Shinawatra, who served as Thailand’s Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006 and is the father of current Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has long been a "great friend" of India and had shared a very warm relationship with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"Mr. Shinawatra and I talked at length about India-Thailand cooperation and how it benefits the people of our respective countries. We deliberated on the immense potential in areas like defence, trade, culture and more," he wrote.

Modi arrived in Thailand earlier in the day for a two-day visit to attend the sixth BIMSTEC summit.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.