There are some cities in the world that announce themselves merely through skylines and infrastructure. Bangkok, however, possesses something rarer: a civilisational soul. It is at once ancient and modern, deeply rooted yet remarkably dynamic—a city where gilded temples stand beside towers of global commerce, where tradition does not retreat before modernity but converses with it. As an Indian visiting Thailand, one cannot help but feel not estrangement, but familiarity.
India and Thailand are linked by far more than diplomatic protocol or commercial engagement. Ours is a relationship rooted in centuries of cultural familiarity and maritime interaction. From the influence of Buddhist traditions to the enduring resonance of the Ramayana in Thai cultural life, from linguistic and artistic exchanges to shared spiritual inheritances, it becomes evident that the connections between our societies predate the modern nation-state itself.
Indeed, when one walks through Bangkok, Ayutthaya, or Chiang Mai, one encounters echoes of a shared Asian heritage interpreted through uniquely Thai genius and sensibility. The very vocabulary of kingship, spirituality, art and classical literature in Thailand bears testimony to centuries of intellectual and cultural exchange across the Bay of Bengal. These links were not forged through conquest, but through monks, merchants, scholars and travellers who built bridges of understanding long before modern diplomacy institutionalised relations. But while history has given our relationship depth, the future now demands greater ambition.
The truth is that India and Thailand remain, in many respects, under-partnered relative to their potential. Thailand stands today as one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic economies—a major manufacturing hub, a gateway to ASEAN markets, and a country with impressive capabilities in tourism, logistics, food processing, healthcare, hospitality and electronics. India, meanwhile, offers scale, talent, technological capacity, a rapidly expanding consumer market, and growing manufacturing and digital ecosystems. The complementarities are compelling and the global economic environment increasingly strengthens the case for closer collaboration between our two countries.
As international supply chains undergo restructuring, businesses across the world are seeking reliability, diversification and regional resilience. This creates a historic opening for India and Thailand to position themselves as interconnected partners within a wider Asian growth architecture. There is tremendous scope for deeper cooperation in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, digital technologies, fintech, education, healthcare, tourism, food processing, logistics and semiconductors.
The digital economy, in particular, offers exciting possibilities. India’s success in building large-scale digital public infrastructure has attracted considerable international attention. Thailand, similarly, has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most innovative digital economies. Collaboration in fintech regulation, cybersecurity, e-commerce ecosystems, startup incubation and smart-city development could become an important new pillar of bilateral engagement.
Tourism, too, deserves to be viewed not merely as a commercial activity, but as an instrument of cultural diplomacy and economic integration. Millions of Indians already visit Thailand every year, drawn not only by hospitality and natural beauty, but by an intuitive cultural comfort. Equally, India offers enormous opportunities for Thai tourism, wellness industries, Buddhist pilgrimage circuits, medical tourism, and educational exchange. Enhanced physical, digital and cultural connections can significantly deepen people-to-people ties between our societies.
Connectivity itself will play a transformative role in the coming decades. Projects such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway carry significance far beyond infrastructure. They represent the physical attempt to realise a larger strategic vision: the seamless integration of South Asia with Southeast Asia. For India, particularly for our northeastern states, improved connectivity with Thailand and ASEAN can become a powerful engine of economic growth, trade expansion and regional development. One must remember that connectivity is not merely about roads and ports; it is about opportunity. It is about enabling commerce, tourism, investment, educational exchange and human interaction. Infrastructure, at its best, is diplomacy made concrete.
Maritime cooperation also deserves far greater attention than it often receives. The Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea are no longer peripheral maritime spaces. They are rapidly emerging as strategic corridors of commerce, connectivity, energy flows and security cooperation within the wider Indo-Pacific region. As geopolitical competition intensifies across maritime Asia, India and Thailand share a common interest in ensuring that these waters remain open, stable, secure and governed by international law.
This naturally creates opportunities for deeper collaboration in maritime security, blue economy initiatives, coastal sustainability, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief coordination, marine research and environmental protection. Climate change, after all, respects no national borders. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events and ecological degradation threaten all coastal societies alike. Regional cooperation, therefore, is essential.
Equally important is the role of institutions such as the India-Thai Chamber of Commerce, which since 1944 serves not merely as commercial facilitators, but as a bridge between our societies. Governments may create frameworks and agreements, but it is entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and institutions that transform diplomatic goodwill into tangible partnerships. In many ways, business communities often move faster than governments. They identify opportunities before policymakers fully recognise them. They build trust through practical engagement and they create the networks of familiarity and confidence upon which enduring strategic partnerships are constructed.
The time has come for India and Thailand to think beyond incrementalism. Our relationship should not be confined to managing existing ties; it should aspire to shaping the future architecture of Asian cooperation itself. Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us civilisational partners. The demands of the 21st century must now make us strategic collaborators. If we approach this partnership with sufficient imagination and ambition, the best chapters of the India-Thailand story will yet be written.
Shashi Tharoor | Lok Sabha MP, Chair of the Standing Committee on External Affairs and Sahitya Akademi-winning author
(Views are personal)
(office@tharoor.in)
