Despite FTA, Indo-Thai economic ties need a boost

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: year, as many as 30 private sector investors visited India’s north-east for investment purposes.

Meanwhile, the cooperation in science and technology is worth mentioning. Apart from trade and investment, India and Thailand are engaged in a series of projects in science and technology. A Programme of Cooperation (POC) in Science & Technology (S&T) was signed in February 2006. The S&T cooperation projects were undertaken between India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Thailand’s Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, and between The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), to mention a few. An Electronics Design Laboratory (EDL) was set-up at the Chulalongkorn University with the Government of India assistance.

A programme of cooperation in biotechnology was signed in 2003 between the two countries to promote, develop and facilitate cooperative activities in the field of biotechnology. India and Thailand are engaged in space research and information technology. A MoU was signed between the National Informatics Centre and the Kasetsart University, Bangkok in April 2006, for cooperation in the field of rural informatics.

India-Thailand cooperation in education is also deep rooted. India has been offering about 60-65 fellowships to Thai nationals under the Indian Technical Cooperation (ITEC) programme every year. Finally, air connectivity between the two countries is something that needs attention. In 2006, nearly half-a-million Indians visited Thailand and over 33,000 Thais travelled to India. At present, there are more than a hundred flights a week between the two countries, but we need more.

No one knows why the twin cities Port Blair and Phuket are not yet connected by direct flights, even though they are closely located in a tourist hot spot. Guwahati in the north-east is connected with Bangkok by a flight, which is highly irregular. Given the immense opportunities in the tourism sector in south-east Asia and eastern and northeastern part of India, there should be more direct flights between the two countries. Globalisation without proper regionalisation is an empty slogan. A vibrant Indo-Thai partnership would then not only strengthen Asian integration but would also reinforce the globalisation process.