Thailand and India Target 'Trusted Strategic Partnership'

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Suphajee Suthumpun outlines plans for a "Trusted Strategic Partnership" with India, targeting key growth sectors.

Thailand and India are moving to elevate their bilateral trade and diplomatic ties to a “Trusted Strategic Partnership”, shifting focus from traditional commodity trading towards joint investment, co-creation, and global supply chain integration.  

The initiative was unveiled following high-level discussions in New Delhi between Suphajee Suthumpun, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.  

Suphajee stated that both nations possess complementary economic capabilities that can be integrated to yield substantial mutual gains.

“What we want to see is not just an increase in trade figures between us, but the combination of Thai and Indian strengths to co-create new products, services, technology, and businesses,” Suphajee said. “Connecting into global supply chains and expanding into third-country markets will enable Thai-Indian relations to grow together sustainably.”

Five Pilot Sectors for Co-Creation

Under the proposed “Co-Creation, Co-Investment” model, Thailand aims to pair its manufacturing standards, agile production capabilities, and strategic role as an ASEAN gateway with India’s massive domestic market, high-skilled workforce, and technological innovations.

The Commerce Ministry has outlined five initial pilot sectors:

Processed Food: Combining agricultural supply chains and value-addition capabilities.

Health and Wellness: Capitalising on medical technology, traditional wellness, and healthcare expertise.

Green Industry: Developing sustainable technology and eco-friendly manufacturing ventures.

Gems and Jewellery: Linking India’s raw materials and large consumer market with Thailand’s design and gem-cutting craftsmanship.

Hospitality: Leveraging Thailand’s hotel management expertise alongside India’s rapidly growing youth demographic and expanding tourism sector.

Fintech and Institutional Mechanisms

To support commercial flows, both ministers agreed to fast-track the cross-border integration of instant retail payment systems: India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Thailand’s PromptPay.

The QR-code-based linkage is expected to streamline transactions for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) while easing consumer spending for incoming tourists.

Institutional cooperation will be further formalised this October, when Thailand hosts the upcoming Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting in Bangkok to monitor ongoing projects and establish new frameworks for economic cooperation.

Robust Bilateral Trade Growth

The diplomatic delegation included prominent Thai business executives representing sectors spanning satellite communications, logistics, and scientific research.

Key participating institutions included Thaicom Public Company Limited, SCG JWD Logistics Public Company Limited, the India-Thai Chamber of Commerce, and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).

India currently stands as Thailand’s largest trading partner in South Asia and its seventh-largest trading partner globally. Between January and July 2026, two-way trade between the two nations reached US$13.97 billion (468.15 billion baht), marking an 8.07 per cent year-on-year expansion.

Thai exports to India accounted for US$10.27 billion (344.05 billion baht), while imports from India stood at US$3.70 billion (124.10 billion baht).

Major Thai export categories to the Indian market include plastic resins, chemical products, animal and vegetable oils, gems and jewellery, and iron and steel products.