On 9 September 2024, Ms. Siriporn Tantipanyathep, Consul-General of Thailand in Kolkata, paid a courtesy call on Shri Amrit Lal Meena, Chief Secretary of Bihar to discuss on the project to construct a Buddhist monk college in Bodhgaya by Wat Thai Buddhagaya – the Royal Thai Monastery, Bodhgaya. The project aims at creating a centre for Buddhist studies for Buddhist monks, novices, and laypeople who reside in India or visit India for pilgrimage as well as promoting Buddhist teachings among Thai and foreign devotees. Bodhgaya is an ideal place to undertake the project since it is the centre of Buddhist pilgrimage circuit and receives more than 80,000 Thai monks, novices and Buddhist followers every year. A Buddhist monk college will also elevate Bodhgaya’s international status as a centre for Buddhist studies and help boosting the local economy. The Chief Secretary agreed that the project would help promoting closer people-to-people ties between Thailand and India and expressed support for the said project.