Thai Commerce Minister meets Nirmala Sitharaman

 

Earlier last week, General Chatchai Sirikulya, Minister of Commerce of Thailand, led a delegation of 40, comprising of senior officials and Thailand’s leading businesspeople to India on a trade, investment and tourism promotion. 

 

During the said mission, General Chatchai held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart,Honourable Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry at Udyog Bhavan in New Delhi. In the 40-min meeting, both sides discussed extensively on the pending bilateral FTA negotiations. Both parties agreed that it was imperative to conclude the comprehensive agreement with the Indian side focusing on the services and investment chapter to be concluded to complement the already-ratified ASEAN-India framework. Both sides also agreed to look into getting an FTA under the BIMSTEC framework sped up. 

 

The Thai side also raised the pending issues of trade barriers on Thai products particularly gold jewelry and LCD monitors. The Thai side has ensured the Indian side that the new Certificate of Origin system put in place will help verify that Thai products can qualify for FTA privileges.  

 

On investment, General Chatchai praised the Make in India Campaign of Prime Minister Modi. He said that Thai investors were now looking more to invest in India. However, a sound business environment was most important to the investors. Hon. Smt. Sitharaman reassured that a system has been put in place to facilitate investors. 

 

On the sideline of this visit, the Thai an Indian private sector also got together in Delhi under the framework of India-Thailand Joint Business Forum (ITJBF). The two sides met for the first time, albeit informally over lunch, since ITJBF was established in 2012 following the last bilateral summit between the two sides. The CEO grouping, the Thai side led by Delta Electronics and the Indian side led by Indorama, agreed to convene their first official meeting to by April 2015.

 

A brief meeting was also organized for the Thai Commerce Minister to meet with Mr. Ajay Shriram, President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The two sides exchanged views on the current status of Indian economy. CII reassured that the Indian economy was in good hand under Prime Minister Modi and Thailand can play a big role in the economic development. 

 

Prior to the visit to the India capital, General Chatchai and his delegation visited Mumbai, the heart of Indian economy. The Thai Trade Centre in Mumbai organized a B2B events which attracted hundreds of participants. Along side the Minister of Commerce was Minister of Tourism and Sports, who chaired an event Discover Thainess to promote culture tourism in Thailand.