Bangkok: Boosting bilateral trade and tackling terrorism are expected to be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when he flies into Bangkok on November 8 for an official working lunch visit with his Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra.

Vajpayee, who was originally to be in Bangkok on a transit visit, turned it into a brief official visit on the request of the Thai authorities. Premier Thaksin is hosting the luncheon. The Indian Premier will return to New Delhi after the luncheon and talks.

Other issues likely to figure during the talks are the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) formed last year, regional issues, bilateral co-operation, setting up of a Thai-India Free Trade Area and the recent ASEAN-India summit in Cambodia.

India's exports to Thailand in the first seven months of 2002 touched $ 429 million while Thai exports to India were $ 229.1 million. India registered an export growth of 6.78 per cent in the first seven months compared to year 2000.

Indian exports include gems, jewellery, iron and steel products, lubricating oil, medicinal and pharmaceutical products. Thai exports to India include agricultural commodities, motor car parts, automatic data processing machines, synthetic filaments, stones and chemical products.

PTI