India and Thailand, located in each other’s extended neighborhood, share a maritime boundary in the Andaman Sea. India’s bilateral relations with Thailand are rooted in history, age-old social and cultural interactions and extensive people to people contacts.
Bilateral Trade has multiplied six times since 2000 to cross US$ 6.6 billion in 2010. Global financial and economic crisis impacted the bilateral trade during 2009. The trade figure for 2009 was US$ 4.9 billion declining by 17% (Indian exports were US$ 1.7 b, down by 34%, while Thai exports were US$ 3.2 b declining by 3.6%). Bilateral Trade for the annual year 2011 is about USD 8.19 billion.
The major Indian groups doing business in Thailand include: Tata group (automobiles, steel, software), Aditya Birla group (chemicals, textiles), Indo Rama group (chemicals), Ranbaxy*, Dabur, Lupin (pharmaceuticals), Bharti Airtel, NIIT, Punj-Lloyd, Kirloskar, Mahindra-Satyam, etc, reflecting the diverse sectors of interest. Among public sector, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, Air India, New India Assurance etc.