Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Thailand for a two-day visit to attend the sixth BIMSTEC summit.
During his visit to Thailand, he will hold talks with his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra to discuss the full spectrum of India-Thailand relations. He is also scheduled to meet Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn as part of his diplomatic visit.
Members of the Indian diaspora in Thailand chanted ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’ as they await PM Modi’s arrival in Bangkok.
Ravi Kumar, President of the Telugu Association, said, “We are so excited to see PM Modi here today. We want more flights between Thailand and India. We look forward to more changes, as he is bringing in India now.”
Prime Minister Modi outlined his schedule in a post on X, emphasizing the importance of strengthening ties with Thailand and Sri Lanka, as well as the broader BIMSTEC region. He said, “Over the next three days, I will be visiting Thailand and Sri Lanka to take part in various programmes aimed at boosting India’s cooperation with these nations and the BIMSTEC countries.”
After concluding Thailand visit, he will travel to Sri Lanka for his first visit to the island country since the election of its new president.
On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister will join the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) leaders from Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan to oversee the signing of the Agreement on Maritime Cooperation.
The BIMSTEC summit will bring Modi face to face with Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Myanmar military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, among others.
The MEA said that this would be the first physical meeting of the BIMSTEC Leaders since the fourth BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2018.
The last ie fifth BIMSTEC Summit was held at Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2022 in virtual format.
The 6th Summit’s theme is “BIMSTEC – Prosperous, Resilient and Open.” The Leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum to BIMSTEC cooperation during the Summit.
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The 6th BIMSTEC Summit is set to take place on Friday, marking a significant regional engagement between India and its neighboring countries in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) group.
