H.E. Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led a delegation comprising Thai officials from the relevant agencies to visit the Republic of India to attend the 4^th Thailand - India Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) on 4 August 2016 in New Delhi. The Meeting was co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary and H.E. Mrs. Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India. The main objective of the 4^th FOC was to follow up on the progress in implementing the outcome of the State Visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand to the Republic of India in June 2016 during which the two Prime Ministers had agreed to advance bilateral cooperation across wide-ranging areas. The Meeting also discussed ways and means to strengthen and enhance collaboration between both countries in all dimensions.

          In terms of economic cooperation, both sides took note of the progress made on negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and India, the Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and India, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and agreed to continue to work together closely.   Both sides acknowledged the importance of a new Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to encourage more two-way investment. On this occasion, the Permanent Secretary presented a non-paper from the India - Thailand Joint Business Forum: ITJBF (Thailand) regarding obstacles in doing business in India to the Indian side as well.  

          With regard to political and security cooperation, both sides discussed cooperation in the field of the defense industry with a vision of Thailand being the centre of the defense industry in Southeast Asia and in relation to investment in India’s defense industry as part of the “Make in India” initiative of the Indian government.  Both sides were pleased with the close cooperation between the two countries in the fields of maritime security and cyber security.  

          In the area of connectivity, both sides were committed to working together towards the completion of the Trilateral Highway Project and the conclusion of the India - Myanmar - Thailand Motor Vehicles Agreement (IMT MVA). The Thai side welcomed India’s initiative in organizing the upcoming India - Myanmar - Thailand Friendship Motor Rally in November 2016.  Both sides also exchanged views on the Dawei Special Economic Zone Project and the draft Air Service Agreement which is under consideration.

          In the sphere of culture and people-to-people exchanges, both sides attached importance to the celebration to mark the 70^th anniversary of Thailand - India diplomatic relations in 2017, cooperation on tourism, especially for Buddhist pilgrims, and Thailand’s contribution to the development of the Buddhist sites known as the “Buddhist Circuit”. On this occasion, the Thai side will present a sum by the Thai business sector of 925,002.14 Thai Baht (approx. 26,500 USD) to Nalanda University as funding for academics and students in the field of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religion.

          Both sides exchanged views on multilateral cooperation including the 2^nd ACD Summit to be held during 9 - 10 October 2016 in Bangkok and the Outreach Summit between BRICS and BIMSTEC Partners to be held on 16 October 2016 in Goa, and reiterated the invitations for the two Prime Ministers to attend the respective summits.  The two sides also discussed on cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-India relations, the 25^th anniversary of which will be marked in 2017 and their views on the situation in the region. On this occasion, the Indian side also hosted a dinner
in honour of the Permanent Secretary and the Thai delegation.