Transcript of Special Briefing on Prime Minister’s visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka (March 28, 2025)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, friends. I welcome you to this Special Briefing on Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka. We have with us Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri and Secretary (East), Shri Jaideep Mazumdar for this briefing. We are also joined by Shri Sugandh Rajaram, Joint Secretary (BIMSTEC), Shri Ashish Sinha, Joint Secretary (South), and Shri C. Ram Kumar, Director (IOR).

With that, I first invite Secretary (East) to give his opening remarks in regard to Prime Minister's visit to Thailand. Sir, over to you.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Thank you Randhir, and a very good afternoon to you all. As you know, Prime Minister will visit Thailand to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and for an official visit to Thailand from the 3rd to the 4th of April. This will be Prime Minister's third visit to Thailand.

In November 2019, he had attended the ASEAN and East Asia Summit that was hosted by Thailand. And earlier, he had been to Bangkok en route to Tokyo in November 2016, when he had gone to pay homage to the late King Rama IX. As you know, India and Thailand have historically warm bilateral relations, shared civilizational, cultural, and religious bonds.

Thailand is India's maritime neighbor, a valuable partner in our Act East policy and Vision for the Indo-Pacific, and also a highly valued partner in BIMSTEC. Our bilateral ties are multifaceted and cover a range of joint cooperation from defence and security to trade and investment, connectivity, science, technology, innovation, education, space, health, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Thailand is the third-largest economy in ASEAN and our fourth-largest trading partner after Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the ASEAN region. Our trade is almost $15 billion, and our exports to Thailand are about $5 billion, and imports from Thailand are about almost $10 billion.

Last year, at the request of the government of Thailand, India had sent the holy relics of Lord Buddha and two of his main disciples for a 25-day exposition, over five different cities of Thailand. This was from 25th February to 9th March, and around four million people paid their obeisance to the relics. The unprecedented success of this exposition is a reaffirmation of our age-old, indelible religious and cultural ties between the two countries.

India and Thailand cooperate in ASEAN and the East Asia Summit process, and as I said, in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, the Mekong Ganga Cooperation, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. The upcoming visit will present an opportunity to build on the positive momentum in our bilateral ties since the visit of the Prime Minister in 2019.

The Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra. This will be his second meeting with the Thai Prime Minister. He had earlier met her on the margins of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane on 11th October last year. They will review the progress in the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to add greater momentum to the India-Thailand bilateral partnership, and also exchange views on the regional and multilateral issues. They will also witness the signing of several bilateral documents.

The Prime Minister is also expected to have an audience with His Majesty King Rama X and Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand.

In addition to the bilateral component of the visit, the Prime Minister will be attending the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The theme of this Summit is ‘BIMSTEC-Prosperous, Resilient and Open’. The Summit, on the 4th April is to be preceded by the BIMSTEC Ministerial Conference and also by the Senior Officials’ Meeting.

As is the normal practice, the Chair of BIMSTEC will rotate from the current Chair, Thailand, to the next Chair, which is Bangladesh. As you know, the efforts to develop a regional cooperation platform along the Bay of Bengal began in June 1997 with the establishment of BISTEC, which was a grouping of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation, with the addition of Myanmar in December that year and then Nepal and Bhutan in February 2004. This became a grouping of seven countries.

Over the past 27 years of its existence and especially over the last 10 years, BIMSTEC has been making steady progress towards becoming a permanent formalized multilateral grouping. The practice of holding Summit meetings began in July 2005 in Bangkok and India hosted the next Summit in 2008. In 2014 the BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka and India hosted the BIMSTEC Leaders' Retreat alongside the BRICS Summit in Goa in 2016.

The Summit was held in Kathmandu in 2018 and in 2022 the 5th BIMSTEC Summit was held virtually by the then Chair, Sri Lanka. The BIMSTEC Charter was approved and the reorganisation of BIMSTEC activities under seven pillars was also approved at that Summit.

At the forthcoming Bangkok Summit, the Bangkok Vision 2030 will be adopted and the report of the BIMSTEC Eminent Persons Group will also be endorsed to chart the future direction of BIMSTEC.

A significant recent development in BIMSTEC has been that the Charter has come into force in May last year. This gives the grouping an international personality, lays down its principles and purposes and also the basic institutional architecture of the grouping. Prime Minister Modi's decision to host the BIMSTEC Leaders' Retreat in Goa in 2016 was a signal development for BIMSTEC.

The Prime Minister is personally invested in BIMSTEC. He also invited all the BIMSTEC Leaders to his inauguration in 2019. Our focus in BIMSTEC is on institution and capacity building, strengthening security including maritime and cyber security, climate security including disaster preparedness, food and human security and increased connectivity, which is trade, energy, transport, digital and people to people, which are our priority areas.

We lead the security pillar of the co-operation and its focus is on establishing strong legal frameworks to combat terrorism, transnational crimes and prevent violent extremism in the region, at the same time, establishing cooperative mechanisms that will facilitate close co-operation among security and law enforcement agencies.

The BIMSTEC region is prone to extreme weather events and natural disasters. Its relevance can be seen from today in the devastating earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand; collaboration in disaster management and between our disaster management authorities through HADR exercises has been a priority area for India. India hosts the regular BIMSTEC disaster management exercises and collaboration activities involving advanced weather forecasting. We also host the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate.

Energy security and energy connectivity for the region is also our priority. We host the Energy Centre in Bengaluru. The Centre coordinates the work towards creating BIMSTEC regional grid interconnection in line with Prime Minister's ‘One World, One Sun, One Grid’ vision.

India has been taking several initiatives in BIMSTEC and during the Summit you will see a large number of them being rolled out as well. A number of agreements and declarations are likely to be concluded at the Summit.

I might also add that the Present Secretary General of BIMSTEC is an Indian Ambassador, Indra Mani Pandey, a very distinguished Indian Foreign Service Officer who took over as SG last year. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: I now invite Foreign Secretary Sir to brief us on the Sri Lanka leg of Prime Minister's visit.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you Randhir. Following the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Prime Minister will travel to Sri Lanka from 4th to 6th April for a State visit on the invitation of President Anura Kumara Disanayaka of Sri Lanka. You would all recall that President Disanayaka had visited New Delhi in December of 2024 on his first overseas visit after taking office as President. And now, Prime Minister Modi is returning this visit by becoming the first foreign leader to be hosted by President Disanayaka in his capacity as President of Sri Lanka.

These visits, coming as they do in close succession, reflect the importance that both countries, India and Sri Lanka, attach to their bilateral relations. This will also be Prime Minister's fourth visit to Sri Lanka during his tenure in office. He last visited Sri Lanka in 2019, as you might recall. That was as a mark of solidarity after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Colombo.

The India-Sri Lanka relationship is one that is rooted in deep civilizational links based on shared ties of history, religion, culture and strong people-to-people ties, as well as, in the modern era, a very close economic, cultural and technical partnership. Sri Lanka is an integral part of our Neighborhood-First Policy, and the relationship, based as it is on mutual trust and goodwill, has stood the test of time. India has come to the assistance of Sri Lanka at critical moments, most recently during the unprecedented economic crisis that Sri Lanka faced in 2022. And India was glad to be able to play a key role in the economic stabilization and recovery of Sri Lanka, thereby demonstrating its commitment as a dependable neighbor to Sri Lanka, and indeed as a first responder to any crisis in the region.

This visit, therefore, also comes in the context of a recovering Sri Lankan economy, and as Sri Lanka resumes its growth path, the visit is coming at an opportune moment for giving the two countries an opportunity to explore new areas of partnership and cooperation. You would also recall the Joint Statement that was adopted on the occasion of President Disanayaka’s visit in December 2024, where there was a commitment to explore the complementarities in the two economies for mutual benefit. And taking that forward, this visit too will focus on promoting investments and deepening connectivity, physical connectivity, digital connectivity, energy connectivity, and in various other domains.

Insofar as the elements of the visit are concerned, the Prime Minister will arrive in Colombo on the evening of the 4th of April. There will be a ceremonial welcome there. And the following day, the 5th of April, will be the main day of engagements in Colombo. Prime Minister and President will hold official discussions. They will together dedicate several projects that are being built with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka. And we'll also witness the exchange of several MOUs pertaining to, as I said, energy connectivity, digitization, defense, health, and multi-sectoral grant assistance. The two leaders will also witness the virtual groundbreaking of the Sampur Solar Energy Project. This is, in many senses, going to be a milestone in the bilateral partnership. The Prime Minister will meet with other political leaders in Sri Lanka during his stay in Colombo. And the President will also host a State Banquet in his honor.

The following day, on April 6, President Disanayaka and Prime Minister will travel together to the historic city of Anuradhapura. They will pay their respects at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple there. As you would all be aware, this temple holds a rather special significance in the India-Sri Lanka Civilizational Partnership because it is here at this temple that sapling from the Bodhi Tree was brought by Theri Sanghamitta, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka from India, and was planted there in the precincts of the temple. During the visit to Anuradhapura, the two leaders will also inaugurate two India-assisted projects in Anuradhapura, and the Prime Minister will leave for home later on the 6th of April.

These are just some elements of the visit. We will have more details to update you on the exact understandings and agreements that are signed during the visit. Let me stop there and answer any questions if you have.

Jessica Taneja, DD India: Thank you, Sir. This is Jessica Taneja for DD India. A question to you, Secretary, first on the BIMSTEC Summit, that we're talking about; It also aligns with our, India's Act East policy, as you mentioned, and in the last decade we've seen the initiatives that have been undertaken, particularly when we talk about transport linkages and connectivity. There was a discussion on Member States adopting a master plan for transport connectivity. There was an agreement on maritime transport cooperation, also a motor vehicle agreement to facilitate, road travel across the region. So a lot of these initiatives have been undertaken. How do we see India's role in this when it comes to India's Act East policy, and also, more importance on the BIMSTEC Summit?

On Sri Lanka, Sir, as we have been a development partner for a very long time and provided assistance many times before when it comes to Sri Lanks's economic woes; this visit, as you said, would also add to the development partnership in various other sectors. Could you tell us particularly what in the energy sector are we looking at?

Pranay Upadhyay, Amar Ujala: Foreign Secretary, Pranay Upadhyay Amar Ujala se. Mera sawal sabse pehle toh jo bhukamp aaya hai Thailand aur Myanmar ke andar, toh BIMSTEC ke aayojan ko lekar kya kisi tareeke ki koi aashanka hai? Agar koi hamara samvad hua hai Thailand sarkar ke sath, to bataiyega.

Aur doosra, Jessica ne jo sawal poocha, connectivity projects ka update is samay kya hai? Bahut saare projects ko lekar poora ek framework tayyar kiya gaya tha, ADB ke saath bhi uska sahyog hua tha. Lekin is project ka update kya hai, kyunki Myanmar ke andar bhi political instability hui hai, aur iske sath hi Bangladesh ke andar bhi rajneetik asthirta hui hai. Toh uske baare mein agar aap bata sakein.

Aur saath hi, teesra ek chhota sa sawal, kya Bangladesh ke Chief Adviser ke saath Pradhan Mantri ki mulakat tay hui hai?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate Translation] Foreign Secretary, this is Pranay Upadhyay from Amar Ujala. My first question is regarding the recent earthquake in Thailand and Myanmar. Is there any kind of concern about its impact on hosting of the BIMSTEC Summit? Please tell if we had any discussions with the Thailand government in this regard?

Secondly, regarding the question Jessica asked, what is the current update on connectivity projects? A comprehensive framework was prepared for several projects, in collaboration with ADB as well. However, what is the update on these projects, considering there has been political instability in Myanmar, and also in Bangladesh? If you can provide information on this?

And finally, a short third question, has a meeting been scheduled between the Prime Minister and Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser?

Yeshi Seli, Business India: This is Yeshi Seli from Business India. I want to know, this is addressed to Foreign Secretary, whether Prime Minister Modi, when he goes to Sri Lanka, will a business delegation accompany him? Because there's been a lot of talk, of late, especially the former Sri Lankan President has been talking about Sri Lanka taking… suggesting that Sri Lanka take interest in investment from Indian companies like Adani. So any comments on that?

Sidhant Sibal, WION: Sir Sidhant from WION. Sir in terms of Sri Lanka, how much focus will be on debt restructuring talks, because India was the first country to provide the support? My second question, not directly related to BIMSTEC, but also related to it; because when it comes to the earthquake in Thailand and Myanmar, the Prime Minister has just said that India is willing to offer the support. So any conversation, any plans underway, India being the first responder to send relief?

Sridhar, The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle: Sir Sridhar from The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle. Just wanted to check, you mentioned this disaster relief mechanism of BIMSTEC, has it been activated following the earthquake in Myanmar and the effects in Thailand as well? And what is being done? And also another question, you mentioned that Bangladesh will be the next Chair of BIMSTEC. So how do you see the prospects of BIMSTEC moving forward because ties between India and Bangladesh have not been really very good in the last few months? So that's my question, Sir. Thank you so much.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Since there are several questions on connectivity let me address that first. Yes, I think India is very strongly committed to increasing connectivity within BIMSTEC, because lot of the things that we want to do in terms of regional integration are tied up with connectivity.

Firstly on the adoption of the connectivity blueprint for the region, this has been adopted. Now we are discussing about its implementation. So, the connectivity blueprint has been adopted and we are discussing its implementation. We are going to be signing the maritime transport agreement between the BIMSTEC countries at this Summit, which will be a big step forward. And as far as the motor vehicles agreement is concerned, the discussions have commenced on this.

Now regarding the earthquake, etc., and its impact on the Summit, I will just say that we are in touch with the authorities in Bangkok on this. There's nothing at the moment to indicate either way, whether it is going to have any effect on the Summit.

As far as relief is concerned, I will see to Foreign Secretary on that subject. Regarding the disaster relief mechanism, it is not really a mechanism, it is a capacity building at the moment. So we undertake disaster relief exercises. So these are extremely useful for interoperability within countries. So, because of the exchanges we have had on this among BIMSTEC countries, we are able to plan and execute disaster relief operations much better because there is far better understanding between the disaster management authorities of different countries. So this will no doubt have a big impact as we go forward in addressing this particular disaster.

As far as Chairmanship of BIMSTEC is concerned, I think all the seven countries of BIMSTEC are equally committed to integration and regional cooperation. And that is obvious from the kind of responses we get in terms of, say, the different pillars of cooperation that we have. So going forward, we are very optimistic that BIMSTEC will be a model in regional cooperation mechanism.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: So, just to take forward the part of the question related to the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that has struck today in Myanmar and Thailand, in so far as relief and assistance is concerned, we are currently analyzing the reports related to damage, primarily in Myanmar. We are in touch with the official authorities in Myanmar and are also looking at the exact requirements in terms of the assistance and relief material that might be required.

You are aware that India has always been a first responder, especially in its neighborhood, whenever these kinds of natural disasters have taken place. I would imagine that by later today, we will have a further update on the responses that we will be mounting with regard to this particular situation. So we will come back on that particular issue.

With regard to, Jessica, your question on the energy sector, I mentioned in my remarks that the leaders will witness the groundbreaking of the Sampur Solar Energy Project. This is a project that has been in the works for some time. It's gone through an evolution as well, but it will be a major milestone in the bilateral partnership between the two countries.

In addition to that, as you are aware, India does play a role in energy security in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation, the Lanka IOC, has a significant presence in Sri Lanka in terms of supply of energy products in the country and they are involved in discussions in a number of other areas. We hope to see progress during this visit on that.

We are also looking at other areas to develop certain projects in Sri Lanka that might function as energy hubs where a variety of energy-related issues or energy-related projects could be taken up. All of these are in various stages of discussion. As I said, by the time the visit concludes, we will be able to give you an update on how cooperation is proceeding in this area.

Pranay jahan tak BIMSTEC Summit pe koi asar padne ki aashanka hai uske baare mei Secretary (East) ne pahle hi uttar de diya hai, aur jahan tak wahan pe Bangkok mei aur jo wahan pe leaders aayenge unke sath mulakat hogi ya nahi, in sabhi sawalon pe abhi gaur chal raha hai, aur jald se jald aapko uske baare mei soochna dene ki koshish karenge.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate Translation] Pranay, as far as any concerns regarding the impact on hosting of the BIMSTEC Summit are concerned, Secretary (East) has already answered on it. As for whether meetings will take place with other leaders coming to Bangkok, these are currently under consideration, and we will try to provide you with information on this as soon as possible.

To Yeshi's question on a business delegation, I am not aware… there is no business delegation with regard to this particular visit, but of course there is very close cooperation in the commercial sector between the two countries.

On Sidhant's question related to debt restructuring, as you are aware, India was, in a sense, the first responder here too by extending nearly $4.5 billion of assistance in 2022 and 2023. We also played a key role in extending the necessary financial assurances that then enabled the International Monetary Fund to extend the extended fund facility to Sri Lanka.

We also played a very important role as co-chair of the Official Creditors Committee and have been working together now with Sri Lanka also in finalizing the debt restructuring agreements. Some agreements have already been signed, but we are in the final stages of concluding some other agreements. They are likely to be concluded very soon. You will hear about them during the course of the visit.

Diyva, Indian Express: Divya from the Indian Express. With respect to Sri Lanka, there has been a lot of concern from the southern states on the issue of fishermen and their livelihoods. As per government data, more than 500 fishermen were arrested last year. Is there going to be some discussion on that and an effort to seek some long-term solution to the long-standing problem?

Kallol Bhattacharjee, The Hindu: The Myanmar crisis featured in the discussion between Muhammad Yunus and the Chinese leadership. I just wanted to have an understanding if you, sort of, thought about the ongoing visit of Muhammad Yunus in China, where among many other things, Bangladesh has welcomed Chinese participation in the Teesta project.

Rishabh Madhavendra Pratap, Times Now: Foreign Secretary, good evening, this is Rishabh from Times Now. Sir since Prime Minister is heading for BIMSTEC, we have seen what happened in Myanmar and Thailand today in the aftermath of earthquake. In Nepal also, there have been reports of clashes between the pro-monarchy groups and the security forces. India has been time and again accused of supporting the pro-monarchy groups. Will there be a discussion between the leaders of India and Nepal on this? Amid the situation right now in Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal, how hopeful is India to have a successful BIMSTEC Summit?

Sahil Pandey, ANI: Sir, I am Sahil from ANI News Agency. Foreign Secretary mentioned that Prime Minister Modi will be discussing defence and security issues with Sri Lanka. What will be the focus areas and any collaboration we can expect in future as well? Thank you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: On the fishermen issue, this is something that is a long-standing issue. It is also something whose origin lies in certain arrangements that were arrived at many years ago, in the mid-70s when the international maritime boundary line between India and Sri Lanka was agreed by the then authorities, both at the central and the state level. And, there were formal agreements that were signed with regard to respective rights in this particular area.

Since then, of course, on grounds of alleged crossing of this line by fishermen from our side, there are arrests on the Sri Lankan side and then a process has to be gone through. We have throughout been in very close contact with Sri Lankan authorities at all levels and in practically every meeting with Sri Lanka, this issue is taken up very, very forcefully by our side. And our central message has always been that these are issues that should really be seen from the humanitarian and the livelihood concerns lens.

There are agreements that have been arrived at from time to time between Indian and Sri Lankan authorities on how to handle this issue. There is a formal mechanism as well of a joint working group on fisheries between the two sides. I think the most recent meeting was held in October last year. There is also a mechanism for fishermen’s associations from the two sides to work.

Our effort is to continue to resolve these issues, find mutual agreement on these issues. Of course, our Mission in Colombo and our Consulate in Jaffna remain very closely involved with these issues. Anytime there are people who are affected, we extend legal as well as other kinds of assistance to them. Sometimes there is medical assistance that is required. We also facilitate the repatriation as early as possible of released fishermen from Sri Lanka to India.

One other thing that we have always focused on with regard to this issue in our discussions with Sri Lanka is the need to avoid the use of force under all circumstances. Therefore, we feel that both sides understand the need to continue our ongoing dialogue, our constructive engagement to eventually achieve long lasting and mutually acceptable solutions to the issue. I have no doubt that the Prime Minister will raise issues related to the welfare of our fishermen during his meeting with the Sri Lankan President.

With regard to these questions related to discussions that have taken place in a third country between leaders, I really don’t have any comments to offer at this stage. Insofar as comments related to a particular agreement etc. are concerned, I am not sure if this is a new agreement. I can get back to you on that, but I really don’t have too many comments to offer on that.

Similarly, to Rishabh's question, not the subject of this briefing, but in any case something that is an internal matter of another country. So I would again prefer not to comment on that.

Sahil, your question on defence and security with regard to Sri Lanka, if I am not mistaken, we are working on a new agreement on defence cooperation with Sri Lanka and we very much hope that that can be concluded during this particular visit.

I think there was a question about BIMSTEC which you might want to address on the success of the BIMSTEC Summit.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Well, I actually have answered that question before. So basically my point was that all the seven countries in BIMSTEC are committed to the success of BIMSTEC and therefore we do not see any problems in carrying the agenda of BIMSTEC forward. That is all I will say at this time.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your presence.