It is time Thailand and India expand their economic cooperation and bilateral relations, especially as the South Asian giant is at the forefront of the global economy, said Nagesh Singh, India's ambassador to Thailand.
Mr Singh told the Bangkok Post on Wednesday that even though Thailand is Asean's second-largest economy, it was only India's fifth-largest trading partner from the bloc.
"I think that it is not good enough. There are four other Asean nations which are ahead of Thailand. If you are looking at, geographically, leaving Myanmar aside, Thailand is our maritime neighbour," the ambassador said on the sidelines of "The Golden Decade For India" forum, organised by the India-Thai Chamber of Commerce held in Bangkok.
"What I want is, one, India-Thailand trade goes up and, two, investment in both countries," he said. "But I would like [to see] greater trade as we have done with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, where our trade and investment are much higher. I think Thailand should be second."
The ambassador encouraged Thailand to invest more in India as currently, his country is one of the world's largest markets.
He raised the example of Apple's smartphone investment in India, where the tech company was able to generate US$6 billion in revenue out of what is a relatively small market share.
Thailand and India could work together in sectors such as automobiles, food products and electronic goods, Mr Singh said.
"Thailand can benefit from the size of India's market and the dynamism of its economy as we are the fastest-growing economy in the world," he said.
"The advantage of Thailand is that the two countries are located just across the Bay of Bengal. With such great connectivity, there should be more trade and investment between both of us."
As 40% of global digital payments are made in India, Mr Singh added both countries could work together via each other's central banks linking their digital payment systems -- India's United Payment Interface (UPI) with Thailand's PromptPay.
"You can imagine how a great number of transactions [are] possible. Thailand can enjoy the cooperation of the two largest economies of the world -- China in the north and India just next door," he added.
During his opening remarks at the forum, the ambassador outlined India's economic performance.
He said India has been among the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last two decades. Last year, India overtook the United Kingdom to become the world's fifth-largest economy. India's GDP is set to double from the current US$3.4 trillion to $8.5 trillion over the next decade, which will make it the third-largest economy in the world. India will account for a fifth or 20% of total global GDP growth during this period, adding more than $400 billion (13.7 trillion baht) to its GDP every year, only surpassed by US and China.
According to the World Economic Forum, India is poised to become the third-largest consumer market behind the US and China. Meanwhile, consumer spending in India is expected to grow from $1.5 trillion to nearly $6 trillion by 2030.
India will also become the third-largest stock market by 2030, with a market capitalisation of around $11 trillion. In 2020, there were about 900 million people in India among the working age group of 15-64, which is expected to expand by another 100 million by 2030. This implies that 25% of the incremental global workforce over the next decade will come from India, Mr Singh said.
Meanwhile, Anhul Chauhan, the global CEO of Minor Food, said in a panel that a new consuming class in India is willing to spend. "Furthermore, this group of consuming class is very large," he added.
He said those who are able to invest in India could earn a good profit as India is a volume market.
Furthermore, manufacturing costs in India were low, and investors could charge high prices for products in India.
Ashish Shanker, CEO of Motilal Oswal Private Wealth, said India is like an elephant that moves slowly.
Over the last 5-6 years, the Indian government has brushed up its regulations and cleaned up sectors which will positively impact future investment.