Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha can expect a warm welcome when he arrives in India on Thursday, but no endorsement, implicit or explicit, of the military regime he heads.
Gen Prayut has a busy agenda for his three-day official visit, which will focus mainly on economic, trade and security issues. But politics will not be on the table.
New Delhi prefers to stay neutral, keeping an equal distance from western powers that have put the government of Thailand in the dock over human rights, and Russia and China which have rolled out the red carpet for Thailand's generals.
Thailand is proposing to take a larger role in the development of Nalanda University, an ancient seat of Buddhist learning in northeastern India. Photo: Sanitsuda Ekachai
Senior officials in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told Asia Focus that New Delhi also took no position on the military-drafted constitution that will be put to a national referendum on Aug 7. "It is for the Thai people to decide," said one official, asking not to be named.
During Gen Prayut's visit to India, the two countries are expected to announce a host of agreements in the areas of security, capacity-building and people-to-people connectivity.
These could include a decision to jointly produce defence equipment and pacts establishing sister relations between Surat city in Gujarat and Surat Thani province in Thailand.
Also in the pipeline is a proposal to allow the Thai hotel chain Minor International and GP Group, the investment company headed by the Thai-Indian tycoon Kirit Shah, to set up hotels on the Buddhist tour circuit in India. As well, New Delhi is expected to formally announce that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit India in November to receive the first World Sanskrit Award.
"We are looking at avenues of joint production in defence. There have been visits by the Thai deputy prime minister (Prawit Wongsuwon) to India and our defence minister to Thailand. Thai teams have visited defence production installations in India," said Jaideep Mazumdar, joint secretary to the MEA.
Mr Mazumdar also told Asia Focus that GP Group and Minor had expressed interest in hotels on the Buddhist circuit, which comprises Bodh Gaya, Rajgir and Vaishali in Bihar state, Kushinagar, Sarnath and Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh. He said the Indian government would encourage such development.
The World Sanskrit Award reflected the "common civilisation connection" between the two countries, he said, confirming that Princess Sirindhorn, a Sanskrit scholar, had agreed to visit India in November to receive the award.
India is also considering a proposal from Thai government for more involvement in Nalanda University, in which 18 countries have agreed to participate.
The university is an attempt at reviving the glory of the ancient seat of learning in northeastern India. It started in 2014 with environmental and historical studies departments and will be adding Buddhist studies and public health from the next academic year.
Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding with India for the establishment of Nalanda University in June last year when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Bangkok. During the same visit the two sides also signed an agreement on double taxation avoidance and exchanged documents ratifying an extradition treaty signed in 2013.
India also considers Thailand crucial for reaching out to Southeast Asian countries. It hopes to have much smoother access to the region with the completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, the signing of a motor vehicles agreement (MVA), and the development of the Kaladan multi-modal transport project that includes Sittwe port in Myanmar.
The trilateral highway is expected to be operational within two to three years. Mr Mazumdar said work was also progressing on the port as well as the navigational channel in the Kaladan River. The MVA is ready to be signed as well.
"Thailand is the very key for us to connect with Southeast Asia. It will be a natural bridge to connect with Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia," he said.
Dawei port, which is being developed in Myanmar by Thai, Japanese and Myanmar interests, will also considerably shorten India's distance from the region. "The advantage Dawei gives is that container shipping traffic and shipping traffic will not have to go through the Malacca strait, which is a much longer route," Mr Mazumdar said.
On the trade front, New Delhi is negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Asean plus Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea. Once the RCEP is finalised, he said, it would supersede free trade agreements signed bilaterally and between Asean and individual countries.
Thailand is India's second largest trading partner in Asean after Singapore. Trade has multiplied eight times since 2000 to reach US$8.66 billion in 2014.
Indian exports include chemicals, ships, machinery, jewellery, vegetables and vegetable products, metal ores, waste scrap, iron and steel, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, yarn and fibres. Major Thai exports to India include polymers, precious stones and jewellery, air-conditioning equipment, motor vehicles, engines, parts and accessories, rubber, machinery and parts, and computers and parts. Tariffs have been eliminated on 83 traded items under an "early harvest" provision agreed to a decade ago, but talks to establish a fully fledged FTA have languished for many years.
In July this year, the two countries will meet to review the early harvest programme and decide whether to expand it. India wants more market access in services (accounting, market research, legal affairs and telecoms), pharmaceuticals and the IT industry. Thailand, on the other hand, may seek more access to infrastructure development. India also would like to partner with Thailand in the hospitality industry.
Indian companies invested $63.45 million in 2014 and $37.53 million last year in Thailand. Thai companies invested $23.72 million in 2014 and $23.12 million last year in India in real estate, infrastructure, food processing, chemicals, hotels and hospitality.
Thailand's "Look West" policy complements the "Act East" mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, building on the "Look East" policy of his predecessor. Next year, the two countries will be celebrating 70 years of bilateral relations. Both will have festivals on each other's soil to mark the occasion.
The two countries, according to Mr Mazumdar, are linked in terms of millennia-old civilisations. A number of tribes migrated from northern Thailand and are settled in northeastern India. Besides, Buddhism, a major religion in Thailand, reached there from India. Around 5,000 Thai students are enrolled in educational institutions in India.
Apart from trade, capacity building and people-to-people relations, New Delhi and Bangkok will also look for joint projects in solar energy, space applications and space technology. As well, they will look at increasing their cooperation in maritime security, narcotics, counterfeit currency and terrorism during Gen Prayut's visit.
Later this year, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), will stage a major promotion in Thailand for the tourism and hospitality industry. In November last year, India organised a Make-in-India roadshow in Thailand.
Mr Mazumdar said many Thai companies had expressed interest during the roadshow and New Delhi would like to do a follow-up during the visit by Gen Prayut.
