India, Royal Thai Army to participate in joint bilateral military exercise Maitree next month

The training will be held between September 1 to September 14.

Speaking on the training, the Indian Army wrote on X: "The exercise is designed to further sharpen the operational capabilities of both armies in undertaking joint company-level counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain, under the United Nations mandate — reflecting the shared commitment towards global peace and security."

India and Thailand have historically enjoyed warm bilateral relations.

In the contemporary times, the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1947 and both sides celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2022.

In April 2025, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Thailand, the two countries elevated the relations to a Strategic Partnership.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation between India and Thailand was signed on 25 January 2012.

"The ongoing defence cooperation initiatives comprise of defence dialogue, joint maritime patrolling by the navies of both countries, annual staff talks, subject matter expert exchange visits and training of officers at each other’s institutions, trilateral/multilateral military exercises etc," read a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Thailand.

As part of regular high-level defence-related visited, Chief of Defence Force of Royal Thai Armed Forces General Songwit Noonpackdee paid an official visit to India from 21-24 January 2025.