Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, made a five-day visit to Thailand from April 24 to 29, 2024, as the two nations marked 52 years of diplomatic relations. This was her first bilateral foreign trip after being elected Prime Minister for the fifth term. This was also the first official visit to Thailand by the Head of government of Bangladesh since 2002. As one of the fastest-developing nations, Bangladesh is establishing itself not only as a favourable economic destination for international and regional trade but also is vying to position itself as a regional player promoting international peace, security and solidarity.[i] The visit focused not only on strengthening Bangladesh-Thailand relations bilaterally but also on playing a positive role multilaterally.[ii]
During the visit, both the leaderships of Bangladesh and Thailand made attempts to strengthen existing bilateral relations, charting future pathways for strengthening the volume of trade between the two nations and paving the way for signing a free trade agreement in the near future. During the visit, Bangladesh placed a strong request to be selected as an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner, as it intends to play a constructive role in ASEAN.[iii] PM Sheikh Hasina participated in the 80th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), which took place in Bangkok from April 24 to 29, 2024.[iv] In this forum, she urged global leaders to denounce all forms of atrocities, conflicts and aggression, saying ‘no’ to wars. Dialogue should be the only way of resolving regional disputes and tensions for lasting peace and security, which remain a pre-condition for sustainable development. Bangladesh actively participates in and contributes to the initiatives of UNESCAP, continuously enhancing its involvement in ESCAP-related activities.[v]
During the visit, both countries signed an agreement on visa exemption for holders of official passports, facilitating smoother interactions between government officials. An MoU was signed to explore energy cooperation potential, positioning Thailand as a key partner for Bangladesh in this sector. The other MoUs focused on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters, aiming to streamline customs procedures and enhance trade efficiency and cooperation in the field of tourism, reflecting efforts to leverage Thai expertise and best practices to enhance Bangladesh’s tourism sector.[vi]
In the last 20 years, the value of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand has increased from $321 million to approximately $1.2 billion. As both nations move towards strengthening economic ties, there have been mention about doubling the current trade volume to $2 billion. As Bangladeshi government focuses on adequate supply to meet its demand for food security, Thailand, being the world’s second-largest rice exporter, has played a positive role in this regard. Thailand also exports salt, sulphur, plastics, mineral fuels, mineral oils, electrical machinery, and equipment, which remain crucial for enhancing the production capacity and the process of industrialisation in Bangladesh. Thailand has also turned into a major medical tourism hub for Bangladeshis in the last decade.[vii]
As the discussion of signing a Free Trade Agreement has been ongoing for a long time, Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stressed that the agreement should be signed within this year. He mentioned that both countries could expand their economic cooperation, highlighting the need to improve the facilitation of trade and investment to increase trade and investment volumes, as well as to create a resilient supply chain.[viii] Prime Minister Hasina emphasised the need for Thai investment in the health sector, and invited Thai investments in Bangladesh’s special economic zones and hi-tech parks.[ix]
PM Srettha also encouraged the Bangladeshi government to provide investment promotion schemes and ease of doing business measures, which would facilitate and attract more Thai investors. He also stressed that both sides aim to step up cooperation in agriculture, halal food production thereby the enhancement of food security for their people.[x]
For bolstering connectivity between the two nations, both countries will soon open operations between the Chittagong of Bangladesh and Ranong of Thailand seaports, which will save time considerably, reduce logistics costs, link the Bay of Bengal with the Andaman coast, and eventually enhance the economic competitiveness of both sides.[xi] It can be mentioned here that with the Air Service Agreement in place, there are more than 30 direct commercial flights a week between Dhaka and Bangkok, which has strengthened tourism, people-to-people contact, and small-to-medium-level business between the two countries.[xii] As Prime Minister Hasina noted, such mutually beneficial policies should also be strengthened under the aegis of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).[xiii] Thailand is the current Chair of BIMSTEC.[xiv]
Thailand remains the second preferred destination of medical tourism after India for Bangladesh. The two Prime Ministers discussed cooperation in training and capacity-building for Bangladeshi medical personnel.
Thailand also proposed a collaboration on vocational education and wished to see a mutual commitment to foster work-integrated education to develop the workforce of both countries.
Prime Minister Srettha added that Thailand appreciated Bangladesh’s role in providing humanitarian assistance to displaced Rohingya since 2017. Thailand has supported Bangladesh’s endeavour to achieve a sustainable solution to this matter, he said. However, it should be noted that separately, former Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo is reported to have stated that ASEAN would gladly welcome Bangladesh as a sectoral dialogue partner, but Bangladesh should also make attempts to view the Rohingya issue from the ASEAN point of view, as Myanmar also remains a full member of ASEAN.[xv] It has been mentioned by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud that he has requested the members of ASEAN to support Bangladesh’s bid to become an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner, preferably by the next ASEAN summit to be held in Vientiane, Laos, in October 2024.[xvi]
Being one of the fastest-growing economies, Bangladesh aspires to be an middle-income country by 2031. For such growth, it needs to partner with like-minded nations in its immediate and extended neighbourhood, which will have a positive impact on the region. Both Bangladesh and Thailand are long-standing partners for India. So any positive developments between Bangladesh and Thailand will have constructive implications for India, as both countries remain integral parts of India’s growth story.
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*Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjee, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
The views expressed are personal.
[i] “Foreign Policy of Bangladesh”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Official Website, The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, https://mofa.gov.bd/site/page/0498e3d1-9bb7-45f0-988c-cb360e9949e2/Foreign-Policy-of-Bangladesh, Accessed on April 25, 2024
[ii] “প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা ছয় দিনের সফরে থাইল্যান্ড গেছেন”, প্রথম আলো, April 24, 2024, https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/awc0k2lo3b, Accessed on April 25, 2024
[iii] ASEAN is Association of South East Asian Nations; “প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা ছয় দিনের সফরে থাইল্যান্ড গেছেন”, প্রথম আলো, April 24, 2024, https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/awc0k2lo3b, Accessed on April 25, 2024
[iv] S.A. Korobi, “The future of Bangkok-Dhaka ties”, Bangkok Post, April 25, 2024, https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2781789/the-future-of-bangkok-dhaka-ties, Accessed on April 25, 2024
[v] “Say no to wars, PM Hasina urges at UNESCAP session”, The Dhaka Tribune, April 25, 2024, https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/344851/pm-hasina-urges-peace-unity-at-unescap-session, Accessed on April 30, 2024.
[vi] “Srettha sees potential for closer ties with Bangladesh after PM Hasina’s visit”, The Nation, April 29, 2024, https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40037557, Accessed on April 29, 2024.
[vii] Masfi-ul-Ashfaq Nibir, “Bangladesh and Thailand Look to Become BFF’s”, International Policy Digest, The Platform, November 28, 2022, https://intpolicydigest.org/the-platform/bangladesh-and-thailand-look-to-become-bff-s/, Accessed on April 25, 2024.
[viii] “Srettha sees potential for closer ties with Bangladesh after PM Hasina’s visit”, The Nation, April 29, 2024, https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40037557, Accessed on April 29, 2024.
[ix] “Bangladesh, Thailand set to kickstart FTA talks this year: Reports”, Fibre2Fashion, April 28, 2024, https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/bangladesh-thailand-set-to-kickstart-fta-talks-this-year-reports-294868-newsdetails.htm, Accessed on April 30, 2024.
[x] “Srettha sees potential for closer ties with Bangladesh after PM Hasina’s visit”, The Nation, April 29, 2024, https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40037557, Accessed on April 29, 2024.
[xi] “Thailand seeks infrastructure, connectivity collaboration with Bangladesh”, The Financial Express, December 06, 2023, https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/thailand-seeks-infrastructure-connectivity-collaboration-with-bangladesh, Accessed on April 25, 2024.
[xii] “Bangkok sees opportunities on further cooperation with Dhaka: envoy”, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), December 06, 2023, https://www.bssnews.net/news/161859, Accessed on April 25, 2024.
[xiii] “PM Hasina terms Thai visit a milestone, seeks investments in public health”, The Business Standard, April 27, 2024, https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/pm-hasina-calls-her-thai-visit-milestone-bilateral-relations-836911, Accessedd on April 30, 2024.
[xiv] BIMSTEC Chairmanship, BIMSTEC, Official Website, https://bimstec.org/chairmanship, Accessed on May 07, 2024
[xv] “Too much emphasis on Rohingya issue may stand in way of upgrading ties with ASEAN”, NewAge, February 19, 2024, https://www.newagebd.net/article/225899/too-much-emphasis-on-rohingya-issue-may-stand-in-way-of-upgrading-ties-with-asean, Accessed on April 30, 2024.
[xvi] “Bangladesh wants to become ASEAN sectoral dialogue partner by next summit in October”, The Dhaka Tribune, February 25, 2024, https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/340341/bangladesh-wants-to-become-asean-sectoral-dialogue, Accessed on April 30, 2024.