Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a bilateral meeting with her Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwan (Source: Twitter@DefenceMinIndia) New Delhi (VNA) – Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with her Thaicounterpart, General Prawit Wongsuwon in Bangkok on August 27 as part of herongoing two-day visit to Thailand.
According to a statement issued by the Indian Defence Ministry, both sides discussedissues related to bilateral defence cooperation.
The ministers welcomed the positive momentum and content of ongoing bilateraldefence engagement and discussed measures to enhance defence cooperation, itsaid.
Sitharaman also calledon Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and discussed ways to enhancebilateral ties.
Duringthe meetings, the two sides agreed to step up military-to-military engagementby commencing bilateral naval exercises, while exploring the possibility ofincreasing the scope of joint military drill like Maitree and Siam Bharat.
They will expand cooperation in security at sea, focusing on sharinginformation to enhance perspectives at sea. Sitharaman proposed providing more opportunitiesto train the Thai Royal Army in India.
The two ministers also soughtmeasures to strengthen cooperation in industry, research and defencedevelopment, while defining specific areas for affiliation to be further discussedthrough institutional dialogue mechanisms.
Both sides noted the complementary nature of their approachesto the Indo-Pacific region and decided to hold regular consultations on issuesof mutual interest, said the statement.
The statement said the Thai defence minister welcomed India's initiative tohost the inaugural BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-SectoralTechnical and Economic Cooperation) Army exercise and conclave of chiefs inIndia in September and confirmed Thailand's participation.
The BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, SriLanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.-VNA
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