Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to the new Prime Minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn was anointed by the country’s monarch on Sunday.
“Congratulations @ingshin on your election as the Prime Minister of Thailand. Best wishes for a very successful tenure,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
“Look forward to working with you to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Thailand, which are based on the strong foundations of civilisational, cultural and people to people connect,” he added.
Congratulations @ingshin on your election as the Prime Minister of Thailand. Best wishes for a very successful tenure. Look forward to working with you to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Thailand, that are based on the strong foundations of civilisational,…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 18, 2024
Paetongtarn, 37, is Thailand’s youngest Prime Minister and assumes office after a court sacked the previous premier and disbanded the main opposition party. She is the third Shinawatra to head the governement but will hope to avoid th fate of her father and aunt Yingluck who were ousted in military coups.
Paetongtarn received King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s official written command on Sunday to form a governemnt in a ceremony at the headquarters of a former-pro Thaksin TV station soon after 9:30 am local time.
The Sunday’s event came after Thailand’s Constitutional court sacked previous premier Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday for breaching ethics rules by appointing a cabinet minister wiht a criminal conviction.
The Shinawatra heiress, ran the hotel arm of the family business before entering politics in 2022 ahead of the last year’s general elections where her Pheu Thai party was unexpectedly knocked down to second spot by the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP).
However, MFP was blocked from forming a government by conservative junta-appointed senators spooked by its promise to reform royal insult laws and breakup powerful business monopolies.
Known by her nickname, Ung-Ing, Paetongtarn is the second female Prime Minsiter of Thailand after her aunt. She studied at the elite conservative institute, Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok and is a mother to two children.
