Thailand’s new PM Shinawatra keen to explore untapped potentials in ties with India

Singapore: Thailand’s new prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his greetings and said she looked forward to working closely with him to build upon the existing ties and explore untapped potentials to create even greater opportunities for the two countries.

Shinawatra, the 37-year-old former business executive, became Thailand's youngest prime minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement on Sunday, two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

“I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and investment, culture, people-to-people contact, and tourism, in particular to increase air travel between both countries,” Shinawatra said in a post on X.

“I am confident that we can build upon our existing ties and explore untapped potentials to create even greater opportunities for our two countries, peoples and beyond,” she said further in the post that was in response to Prime Minister Modi’s post congratulating her.

“Congratulations @ingshin on your election as the Prime Minister of Thailand. Best wishes for a very successful tenure. Look forward to working with you to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Thailand that are based on the strong foundations of civilisational, cultural and people to people connect,” Modi said earlier in the day in a post on X.

Paetongtarn became the Prime Minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin within a year of his assuming charge after the court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach.

She belongs to a political dynasty founded by her billionaire father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. He returned to Thailand last year when his party formed the government.