Thailand's Prime
Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha remembering the close bilateral ties between
the two countries, told Thailand's support for development efforts in Sri
Lanka. He made those remarks when on February 3 at the Government House in
Bangkok Ambassador Samantha K. Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's envoy to the Kingdom,
issued a courtesy call to him.
During the
meeting, Ambassador Jayasuriya conveyed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's
greetings and noted that the friendship between Thailand and Sri Lanka, deeply
entrenched in the Theravada Buddhist traditions, extends many centuries and
assures her full cooperation and constructive commitment to deepen the
socio-cultural relationships further.
She for assistance
to become a Sectoral Dialog Partner (SDP) in ASEAN in Sri Lanka. Ambassador
Jayasuriya also highlighted Sri Lanka's steps towards this end through maritime
security initiatives, capacity-building support for the region's emerging
countries. General Prayut, while remembering his successful visit to Sri Lanka
in 2018, said Thailand is ready to assist Sri Lanka in its growth and will
extend support, particularly in agriculture, technical cooperation and tourism.
He recapped the
importance of completing the proposed FTA between the two countries, which
would allow Thailand and Sri Lanka to expand trade and investment. The Prime
Minister also noted the exchange of sacred relics that contribute to
strengthening cultural and religious relations between the two nations.
The meeting was
held cordially with the participation of senior PM officials including PM
Deputy Secretary-General Bansarn Bunnag and senior Thai Foreign Ministry
officials, while Chancery Head Poornima Gunasekera accompanied the Ambassador,
First Secretary (Commerce) Anil Sirimanna and Second Secretary Saritha
Ranatunga.
OSL Take: Sri
Lanka and Thailand enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been further
strengthened by the FTAs between the two countries.
All this has resulted in many joint
ventures/partnerships formed between Sri Lankan and Thailand businesses. Sri
Lanka’s strategic geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, its ease of
doing business environment, and the several trade agreements, as well as trade
concessions enjoyed by the country, have made Sri Lanka the ideal business
destination in the South Asian region.
Foreign
businesses/investors looking at doing business with India could explore the
possibility of setting up base in Sri Lanka. Also, Indian businesses/investors
could confidently explore business opportunities in Sri Lanka as well as look
at forming partnerships with local companies and vice versa.
No comments:
Post a Comment