The visit of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand’s first woman Prime Minister, to India next week will strengthen the rapidly increasing economic and political ties between the two maritime neighbours.
Ms Yingluck, 44, the youngest sister of former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is the chief guest at India’s Republic Day Parade at Rajpath this year. She will arrive in India on Tuesday.
The photogenic Premier, who is known for her chic fashion sense, is reportedly the youngest chief guest at the Parade in the last three decades.
The chief guest at the 2010 and 2011 parades were South Korean President and the Indonesian President.
The young Premier, known for her penchant for off the rack designer wear, will be leading a high-profile 100 member delegation during her three-day visit to India including the foreign minister and defence minister and a host of businessmen.
“New Delhi looks forward to this visit as an important milestone in the relationship between India and Thailand, and is confident that the visit will give a huge boost to the already strong ties between the two countries and lead to economic prosperity and greater connectivity in India and Thailand which are maritime neighbours,” Anil Wadhwa, India’s ambassador to Thailand, said.
Ms Yingluck, during her short visit to India, plans to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.
The envoy said that Thai businessmen were also eager to take part in the booming Indian economy citing the example of CP Group which was interested in shrimp farming, poultry and setting up “quick chicken” kiosks along the highways. India is also looking at joint projects in connectivity like the trilateral highway project involving Burma.
Trade is rapidly picking up between the two countries with official figures noting that bilateral trade had multiplied six times since 2000, touching $7.46 billion in November 2011.
According to the January-November 2011 figures, Indian exports to Thailand were $4.72 billion, while imports were $2.74 billion with the trade balance at $1.98 billion.