Puneet Agrawal has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday. He is presently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Who is Puneet Agrawal?
Puneet Agrawal, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1997 batch, is presently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. According to the official press release, he is expected to take up the assignment shortly. He has built a distinguished career spanning nearly three decades in India’s diplomatic service.
He has held several key positions both at headquarters and in Indian Missions abroad, contributing significantly to India’s foreign policy priorities.
At present, he serves as Joint Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, where he has been overseeing India’s strategic interests and bilateral engagements across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) since October 2022.
Further details regarding the date of assumption of charge are awaited.
According to the MEA brief, India and Thailand have historically enjoyed warm and cordial relations.
India’s ‘Act East’ policy
The brief further stated that bilateral ties between India and Thailand are multifaceted and span a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, connectivity, culture and tourism, education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
Furthermore, Thailand’s ‘Act West’ policy complements India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Thailand is India’s maritime neighbour.
In the context of regional and sub-regional groupings, Thailand is an important partner of India, including in the ASEAN, the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC), the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).
Bilateral meeting held in the national capital in December
Earlier in December, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow held a bilateral meeting in the national capital and discussed ways to expand the strategic partnership between the two countries and promote security cooperation, according to an official statement from the Thai Foreign Ministry.
As per the Ministry, “Both sides discussed ways to expand Strategic Partnership and promote cooperation on security issues, especially maritime security and addressing the threat of online scams. The Thai side invited India to join the International Conference on Global Partnerships to Combat Online Scams, which Thailand will host during 17-18 December 2025 in Bangkok.”
The statement further noted, “Both sides also exchanged views on strategic issues in the region of common interest, especially promotion of peace in Myanmar and peaceful resolution of the border situation between Thailand and Cambodia, while encouraging Cambodia to cooperate with Thailand on demining along the border.”
