India, Thailand trade is close to USD 18 billion: Jaishankar

Bangkok [Thailand], July 15 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday 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...," EAM Jaishankar said in Thailand while interacting with the Indian community.
Speaking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and leadership, Jaishankar said that it is an enormous fortune for the nation to have him as the Prime Minister at this time.
"I feel it's been an enormous good fortune of the country to have someday like him at this time. I am not saying this because he is the PM and I am a cabinet member...He is enormously visionary and grounded; honestly, such people come once in a lifetime," Jaishankar said.
"For us, this is not just a relation but a relation that is associated with reform and change in India...When PM Modi took charge as the PM the look east policy became an act and it wasn't only a terminology. After 2014 our connectivity, defence & security relations, economic engagement and our community have grown...," Jaishankar added. 
EAM is in Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on July 16, 2023.
MGC is one of the oldest mechanisms of the lower Mekong region and is guided by India’s Act East Policy.
​In Bangkok, EAM will also attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on 17 July 2023.
BIMSTEC is an economic and technical initiative which brings together the countries of the Bay of Bengal for multifaceted cooperation. The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the BIMSTEC agenda and strengthen the organisation. (ANI)