'India's defence and security ties with Thailand flourish since 2014..,' says S Jaishankar

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. While interacting with the Indian community, Jaishankar said, "We engage with the countries of the ASEAN. So, for us, this is not just a relationship.

It is not even a relationship which began, as I said, in 1947, in the modern form. It is, of course, a relationship which goes back in history, but it is a relationship that is associated with reform and change in India. So, this period that we are talking about, especially the last 25 years, this is a time when this relationship has grown very much." "At the same time, where Thailand is concerned, just like we had a look East policy, they had a look-west policy.

And for us, it started in 92. For them, it started in 97. And in due course, when Modi became Prime Minister in India, he felt that nothing will happen through looking and they should do something.

So, looking became active. And it wasn't only a terminology. You know, if you look after 2014, our connectivity has grown, our defence and security relationship has grown, our economic engagement has grown, our community has grown, and the same sentiment we have also seen from the Thai government," he added.

He said that the trade between India and Thailand is close to USD 18 billion annually and it was the highest in the last year. Jaishankar was addressing the Indian diaspora while his visit to Thailand. "Today our trade is close to 18 billion dollars annually and last year it was the highest ever trade...I believe given the growth in India if you look at the major economies of the world today there are not major economies growing above 5 per cent...," Jaishankar said.