Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a series of high-level bilateral meetings in Bangkok with financial leaders from the UK, Switzerland, and Japan to deepen economic ties and advance strategic bilateral investment treaties. Discussions focused on finalizing the India-UK Financial Partnership and expediting the India-EFTA trade agreement alongside securing major Japanese private investment commitments across clean energy and critical supply chains. In maritime security developments, a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel, the GFS Pride, sank in the Strait of Hormuz following a missile strike, while another freighter, the GFS Giselle, suffered hull damage, highlighting escalating operational risks along critical Middle Eastern trade lanes. Meanwhile, on the domestic logistics front, Cochin Port introduced India’s first AI-driven facial recognition immigration corridor to eliminate manual passport scanning for international cruise tourists. Developed in collaboration with the Bureau of Immigration, the automated border-control system aims to streamline passenger flow, drastically reduce port processing delays, and support the national goal of expanding India’s cruise passenger traffic to one million by FY2029.