India and Thailand Wednesday discussed strengthening of cooperation in strategic fields and inked six pacts in key areas including defence, security and economy. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra held wide-ranging discussions on international, regional and bilateral issues and expressed the desire to work together towards elevating the bilateral relations to strategic partnership for mutual benefit. "Developing close relations with Thailand is an important component of our Look East Policy. Strong India-Thailand relations contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the region," PTI quoted Singh as saying at a joint media event with Shinawatra. Emphasizing the need to step up bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the fields of defence, counter-terrorism and security, Singh said he underlined to Shinawatra the need to put in place a bilateral legal framework to deal with "non-state actors and subversive elements" that pose a common threat to both our societies.
