India ''looks east'', Thailand ''looks west''

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, NOV. 28. The visiting Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr. Thaksin Chinawatra, concluded here today a productive round of political engagement with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

At the end of a day of ``constructive and cordial'' talks between Mr. Thaksin and the Indian leaders, the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in advanced technology, study the idea of a bilateral free-trade arrangement and explore the prospect for a land corridor between the two countries through Myanmar.

The success of the first visit to India by a Thai Prime Minister in thirteen years has had a lot to do with the politics and personality of Mr. Thaksin Chinawatra.

As he experiments with new economic ideas in Thailand and challenges the traditional growth model followed by Bangkok over the last two decades, cooperation with India is a deliberate choice for Mr. Thaksin.

The search for a new relationship with India is part of Mr. Thaksin's attempt to diversify Thailand's international economic orientation as well as rethink the national developmental strategy.

If India had initiated a ``look east'' policy at the turn of the 1990s, Mr. Thaksin is interested in a ``look west'' approach towards Thailand's Asian neighbours.

The recognition of mutuality of interests dovetails into the Ganga-Mekong initiative for cooperation between south and south east Asia that the two countries support.

Beyond the usual focus on bilateral relations, Mr. Thaksin brings a larger political and economic framework which is of some interest to India. To cope with the challenges of globalisation, Mr. Thaksin has proposed an Asian Cooperation Dialogue.

In his speech at the dinner banquet hosted by Mr. Vajpayee, the Thai Prime Minister called for setting up of a ``core group'' of countries from Asia to promote the concept.

Mr. Vajpayee, in turn, said ``the shared security perceptions'' should ``cement the partnership'' between the two countries.

As Thailand copes with the devastating impact of the East Asian economic crisis in 1997, India looms large as a new market as well as a partner in the development of the ``new economy'' in Thailand.

It is in this context that the idea of a bilateral free trade agreement was discussed by the two sides today. It was agreed that the concept should be studied.

Mr. Thaksin has been keen to develop an East-West highway which would connect Thailand to Vietnam's deep sea ports to the East of Thailand and India through Myanmar to its West. This has evoked interest from New Delhi which is expanding its own road links.

Facing a stiff competition for its traditional export items from cheap Chinese goods, Mr. Thaksin wants to move Thailand to a higher level in the value chain. Inevitably, Thai hopes to create knowledge-based economy, come into focus. The agreement signed today between India and Thailand on Information Technology should hopefully give a boost to those hopes.

Mr. Thaksin, who set up his own party ``Thai Love Thai'' in 1998 and won a smashing political mandate in 2001, represents the current churning in the Thai society and a new generation of leaders.

Starting out as a police officer, Mr. Thaksin was entrepreneurial enough to build a large telecom company and become one of the wealthiest men in Thailand.

But the populist that he is, Mr.Thaksin has made a big pitch for the ordinary Thai people a majority of whom depend on agriculture. Strong commitments to rural subsidies has been one of the keys to Mr. Thaksin's popularity.

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