At the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka on 12 and 13 July 2018. This visit takes place against the backdrop of discussions during President Sirisena’s visit to Thailand in November 2015.

Prime Minister Chan-o-cha will arrive in Sri Lanka in the afternoon of 12 July. On the evening of 12 July, he will be received by President Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, and accorded an official guard of honour and gun salute. This will be followed by official bilateral discussions that will cover the full range of bilateral engagement between Sri Lanka and Thailand from culture to commerce and people-to-people contact. The President will host an official banquet at the President’s House that same evening for the visiting Thai Prime Minister and delegation.

The following instruments are expected to be signed during the visit:

• Treaty on the Transfer of Offenders and on Co-operation in the Enforcement of Penal Sentences
• Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Economic Partnership
• Memorandum of Understanding on Technological Collaboration Related to Value Addition of Primary Products
• Joint Action Programme for Cooperation on Sustainable Community Development Model Based on the Application of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in Sri Lanka

A significant feature of the visit will be the launch of negotiations for a possible future Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will host the visiting Prime Minister at breakfast followed by discussions focusing on economic cooperation, trade and investments between the two countries.

Reflecting our shared and historical cultural heritage, Prime Minister Chan-o-cha will visit the Temple of the sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, and call on the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theros of the Malwatta and Asgiriya Chapters of the Siam sect. He will also plant a sapling at the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya to mark his visit to Sri Lanka.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

10 July 2018

Text in Sinhala (PDF)

Text in Tamil (PDF)