After a meeting with officials from the Thai-India Chamber of Commerce yesterday, caretaker Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the mission would head to India in October or November. The trip will focus on boosting trade and investment between the two countries, as trade volume with India is still low compared with other Asian nations, such as Japan and China.

Although both countries have enjoyed rapid economic growth, ties between Thailand and India are not at a satisfactory level, Somkid said.

The mission will focus on improving cooperation in the areas of technology and education, and on expanding trade and investment in sectors such as gems and jewellery, auto parts and tourism.

In addition, the ministry will promote Thailand as a shooting location for India's huge movie industry. It is hoped this strategy will also attract more Indian tourists to the Kingdom, the minister said.

"Only a small number of Indian tourists visit Thailand, although it costs them less to come here than to travel to Indonesia," Somkid said.

Sathit Segal, former president of the Thai-India Chamber of Commerce, said Thailand has strong potential to attract Indian millionaires and billionaires to arrange wedding ceremonies here.

"There are many rich people in India who want to have a different experience outside India when arranging their wedding ceremonies or anniversaries. The most important thing is that their friends will join the celebrations, which can last for seven days," he said, adding that a single party could spend Bt50 million to Bt60 million on such an important event.

Moreover, the Indian movie industry has even more working capital than the US industry, Sathit said. Luring the industry to shoot here would benefit Thailand in terms of tax collection and employment, he said.