“INDIA HAS BECOME AN ENGINE DRIVING THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC GROWTH.”

To expand business ties between Thailand and India, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Commerce, H E Jurin Laksanawisit, visited India last month. In conversation with Leandra Monteiro, he explained the growing synergies between the countries that will ease the trade relations. WHAT ARE THE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THAILAND IS LOOKING AT BUILDING IN INDIA? India is Thailand's fifth-largest trade partner. Thus, Thailand is looking to increase trade exchange in the areas of Construction Materials, Rubber, Rubber wood, Tapioca Starch and Logistics. The Thai government is trying to explore newer partnerships for its home-grown companies in India and is open to provide a suitable platform for Indian businesses. We are aiming at optimising FTA benefits, developing food processing industry, promoting Thailand as a trading nation and eventually establishing healthy channels of trade exchange which will benefit the Thai industries. WHICH ARE THE FOCUS SEGMENTS FOR THAI BUSINESSES IN INDIA? Thailand's key focus segments are Construction Material, Rubber, Rubber Wood, Logistics and Tapioca Starch. Thailand’s service sector can be a suitable supplement to India’s capabilities in areas such as agro-logistics and shipping services, distribution and warehousing, construction and interior decoration and hospitality services, which will have a positive impact on SMEs and the local economy.

A trade war between the US and China is having adverse effect on global economy. It is India’s fortunate position as fundamentals of domestic economy is strong with over 1.3 billion population. This is a great opportunity for Thailand to explore and nurture trade partnerships and joint investments with India.” H E Jurin Laksanawisit

WHAT ARE THE UNIQUE INITIATIVES BEING TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO ATTRACT INDIAN COMPANIES TO THAILAND? The government of Thailand has signed MOUs between the Association of Furniture Manufacturers & Traders, India and Thai Hevae Wood Association, Thailand-India Business Council to create an entire online platform called ‘GlobalLinker’ for SMEs from both the countries. A new corridor between India and Thailand will be created to connect SMEs, to enable them to strike new trade deals. We are estimating that this initiative will bring over 40,000 SMEs from Thailand & India onto the GlobalLinker platform.