A high-level delegation led by H.E. Mrs. Urasa Mongkolnavin, Director-General, Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, accompanied by representatives from leading Thai universities, paid an official visit to the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, with the objective of exploring avenues for strengthening academic, research and institutional cooperation between NEHU and universities in Thailand.
The delegation was welcomed by Prof. S. R. Joshi, Director R & D Cell, NEHU who extended a warm welcome to the Thai delegates and requested the Vice-Chancellor-in-Charge, Prof. S. K. Barik, for his remarks and facilitation of the interaction and discussions with the visiting delegation.
In his inaugural address, Prof. S. K. Barik, Vice-Chancellor-in-Charge, NEHU, expressed his gratitude to H.E. Mrs. Urasa Mongkolnavin and the visiting delegation for choosing NEHU as part of their official academic outreach.
He highlighted the importance of strengthening India- Thailand academic relations and expressed NEHU’s interest in developing meaningful and sustained partnerships with Thai universities.
Prof. Barik proposed the establishment of an umbrella centre at NEHU, to be known as the “Centre for Indo-Thai Collaboration”, which would serve as a common platform for promoting and coordinating academic and research partnerships between NEHU and Thai universities.
The proposed Centre would encompass diverse fields of study and research and facilitate collaborative programmes, academic exchanges, joint research and other institutional initiatives.
Addressing the gathering, H.E. Mrs. Urasa Mongkolnavin thanked the Vice-Chancellor-in-Charge and NEHU for hosting the Thai delegation, which included representatives from Thai academia.
She emphasised that the Government of Thailand envisages the visit not as a one- time engagement but as the beginning of a long-term academic association and cooperation between institutions in Thailand and NEHU.