India, Thailand aim to double trade by 2014

[News_Editor]

India, Thailand aim to double trade by 2014

2011-04-06 02:45:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- India and Thailand on Tuesday agreed to double their trade by 2014 and intensify their cooperation in the areas of defense, education, tourism and culture.

"We see Thailand as playing a positive role in our efforts to catalyze development and improve connectivity of our Northeastern States with the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists after wide-ranging discussions in New Delhi with his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva.

According to NetIndian News Network, the two sides also agreed to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement that would include goods, services and investment.

Bilateral trade grew six times in the ten years from 2000, and crossed $6.6 billion last year. Indian companies have invested more than $1.5 billion in Thailand, while Thai companies have invested about $800 million in India, according to Vishnu Prakash, official spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Both countries also agreed to further strengthen ties in the fields of defense, counter-terrorism and security, and to initiate a senior official level dialogue between their defense ministries.

"We both expressed our desire to cooperate with each other to secure the vital sea-lanes of communications which pass through the Indian Ocean. We have identified other areas of cooperation such as space technology, disaster management and science and technology," Singh said.

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