Thai PM ends visit to India, leaves for Bangladesh

NEW DELHI, December 21 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ended her two-day official visit to India and was leaving for Bangladesh Friday afternoon, the second leg of her ongoing three-day trip to the South Asian region. Prior to her departure for Bangladesh for a two-day official visit at the invitation of her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, Yingluck had a meeting with Thai business operators in India and took part in a ceremony to welcome a car rally caravan organized at Vigyan Bhawan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of sound relations between India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at which she was greeted by her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and his wife, as well as other ASEAN leaders. The activity was aimed at promoting India-ASEAN links for further strengthening both sides' economic and tourism cooperation, as well as long standing relations between Indian and ASEAN people, as participants have a good opportunity to learn ways of life of people with different races and cultures along the rally route who represent long standing relations between the Southeast Asian region and India, the latter of which is a significant origin of the eastern civilization. The Thai prime minister later attended a luncheon hosted by her Indian counterpart, before ending her two-day trip to India and leaving for Bangladesh, marking the first top Thai leader's visit to Dhaka in eight years. On Thursday evening, the Thai prime minister, meanwhile, attended the Plenary Session:ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi, also marking the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-Indian relationship, during which she pointed out that ASEAN-India economic partnership will become a powerful force driving forward the global economy. (TNA)