Experts & policymakers brainstorm on strengthening Thailand ties with NE

Guwahati, Sep 23: The Brahmaputra–Chao Phraya Dialogue, organised by Asian Confluence here recently explored new avenues of cooperation between Northeast India and Thailand.

Held under the theme ‘Building the Northeast’s Health, Education, Youth and Enterprise Bridge with Thailand’, the dialogue was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand; Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; Department of Political Science and Public Administration, RSHSS, Assam Royal Global University; and Meghalaya Institute of Governance. 

The conclave focused on strengthening institutional, academic and people-to-people linkages between Northeast India and Thailand.

The Dialogue opened with a session on “India–Thailand Collaborations in NER: Charting New Trajectories”.

The discussions highlighted opportunities for deeper India–Thailand collaboration across academia, technology, innovation, skills, industry and people-to-people linkages. 

Urasa Mongkolnavin, Director-General, Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, emphasised the scope for strategic partnerships in pharmaceuticals and AI innovation, calling for cooperation to move beyond MoUs towards meaningful implementation. 

Prashant Agrawal, Additional Secretary (South), Ministry of External Affairs, identified AI, semiconductors, skills training and food production as key areas for cooperation and called for Northeast universities to connect with wider Asian academic networks. 

Dr RK Ranjan Singh, former Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, highlighted opportunities in digital technology, the creative economy, startups, joint research, and student and faculty exchanges, emphasising the need for tangible ground-level impact. 

Narayan Konwar called for stronger integration of Northeast India into India’s foreign relations, with a focus on innovation and academic collaboration. Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das also underlined the recent Joint Declaration as an important pillar for stronger collaboration and highlighted the potential of the Northeast–Thailand bridge to create greater opportunities for youth.

The second session featured a high-level panel on “Building the Northeast’s Education, Youth and Enterprise Bridge with Thailand.” The panel brought together academics and institutional representatives from India and Thailand, including representatives from IIT, Nagaland University, NEIGRIHMS, Indian Institute of Public Health, Thammasat University, Chulalongkorn University, Ubon Ratchathani University and Prince of Songkla University.

Discussions centred on strengthening education and academic exchanges, youth engagement, entrepreneurship, skilling and public health cooperation, with participants exploring ways to translate the growing India–Thailand Strategic Partnership into stronger institutional and people-to-people connections in Northeast India.