Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in Bangkok Wijayanthi Edirisinghe paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the Parliament and President of the National Assembly of Thailand Wan Muhamad Noor Matha at the Thai Parliament on 17 December 2024. The meeting was focused on further strengthening the longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The Speaker recalled the 70-year-long friendly relations between Thailand and Sri Lanka, underpinned by shared cultural and religious heritage. He highlighted that Buddhism, Thailand’s national religion, originated from Sri Lanka, forming a significant relationship between the two countries.
The Ambassador mentioned about the upcoming 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025 and informed the Speaker that a series of commemorative events will be organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
She also expressed her gratitude to the Royal Thai Government for its assistance in rescuing and repatriating stranded Sri Lankan victims through Thailand’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) system. Furthermore, she requested Thailand’s support in rescuing the remaining Sri Lankan victims from cybercrime centers in Myanmar. The Speaker reaffirmed their commitment to assisting Sri Lankan victims of human trafficking with the support of relevant agencies through collaborative efforts. He reiterated Thailand’s prioritization of ensuring human rights and acknowledged that human trafficking remains a critical issue within the ASEAN region and on a global scale, requiring collective action.
Discussions also touched on enhancing parliamentary relations. Ambassador Edirisinghe emphasized the importance of re-establishing of parliamentary friendship groups between the two countries and requested to facilitate exchange programme specially for the new members of the Sri Lanka Parliament.
The Speaker highlighted the significance of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Thailand and Sri Lanka this year, and expressed confidence that it will further boost trade volumes between the two countries. He also expressed willingness to provide scholarships for Sri Lankan students to support educational development.
The meeting was also attended by the senior officials of the Thai parliament and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bangkok.
The courtesy call marked another step in strengthening the historic ties and cooperation between Sri Lanka and Thailand in multiple domains, paving the way for enhanced collaboration in the years to come.
Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Bangkok
24 December 2024
