As many as 30 Thai companies will be showcasing their products in a five-day exhibition starting here tomorrow.
The exhibition is being organised by CII in association with Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Government of Thailand.
Companies will put up a range of exotic Thai items, including herbal cosmetics, artificial flowers, vases, wooden carvings, jewellery & fashion accessories, handicrafts, ladies' purses & handbags, kitchenware, toys, footwear and readymade garments.
Royal Thai Embassy, Minister, Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum said he saw a lot of business potential in northern India, and this visit and trade fair was the first step to explore this potential.
The Minister said that bilateral trade between India and Thailand is expected to double to USD 16 billion by 2015, on increase in trade volumes.
"In past five years, trade volume between two countries increased by an average of 15 per cent annually, last year it was more than USD 8.6 billion. We expect it to double to USD 16 billion by 2015 on increase in trade volume," he said.
Thailand is the perfect launch pad for Indian companies that are keen to tap into the growing Southeast Asian market. In a bid to boost investment flows and strengthen inter-regional ties, Thailand authorities are encouraging Indian companies to use Thailand as a springboard for their regional and international expansion plans, he said.
"It is because Thailand is a key player in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), enjoying a strategic location that provides easy access to a larger market of nearly 600 million people, which is expected to gain even more strength when the ASEAN vision of One Community materialises in 2015, making it a community of connectivity, a single market and production base," he added.
