Indian PM Narendra Modi met his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Vientiane on Friday when they discussed a wide range of bilateral issues.

This was the first meeting between the two Prime Ministers.

"Prime Minister congratulated the Thai Prime Minister on assuming office. She also extended greetings to PM on his historic third term in office," the Indian government said in a statement.

During the meeting, they also exchanged views on ways to forge closer cooperation in sub-regional, regional, and multilateral fora.

In this context, they discussed strengthening regional cooperation through BIMSTEC.

India’s ties with Thailand are an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy, which is marking a decade this year, and India’s Vision of the Indo-Pacific.