May 31, 2013, at 1230hrs (local time), at the President’s Secretarial General Office, PM Yingluck and the delegation had a bilateral meeting (plenary) with the Sri Lankan counterpart led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Gist of the meeting as follows:
PM Yingluck was honored to receive a warm welcome from the Sri Lankan Government and people following President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Thailand to attend the World’s Vesak Day in 2012. Her visit this time would ensure Sri Lanka that the Thai Government considered the country a significant ally in the South Asian region, and was ready for cooperation expansion as well as knowledge exchange and assistance in all dimensions.
Both leaders hailed Thailand -Sri Lanka’s relations that have continually been developed with shared and solid foundation on religion. PM Yingluck commended Sri Lankan socio-economic growth following the Government’s successful peace negotiation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the past 3-4 years, and reaffirmed Thailand’s support for the President’s effort to build a prosperous and peaceful country. PM Yingluck also congratulated the success of the 3rd Thai-Sri Lankan Joint Committee meeting in early May which saw good progress of bilateral cooperation even though such meeting had not been held for almost 10 years.
On this occasion, PM Yingluck and the President of Sri Lanka discussed and exchanged views on various issues including reinforcement of bilateral relations and cooperation, and alliance in the multi-lateral stages. Gist as follows:
Religious cooperation: PM Yingluck thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for its support in the ordain ceremony held at Temple of the Sacred Tooth in honor of PM Yingluck’s visit this time, as well as a celebration of 260th anniversary of Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka which had been held annually. According to PM Yingluck, this reflected tight-knit tie between the two countries through religion. She also thanked Sri Lanka for the scholarships granted to Thai monks to study Buddhism in Sri Lanka and its support on Buddhist tourism particularly for Buddhist pilgrims.
Cooperation on trade and investment: Both parties agreed to promote investment atmosphere between the two countries by encouraging Thai and Sri Lankan trade and investment agencies to work more closely in order to create opportunities and exchange information on diverse areas of business of mutual interests, as well as the public–private partnership (PPP) projects. The Sri Lankan President welcomed Thai investors to invest in Sri Lanka particularly in infrastructure development projects, electricity generation, SMEs, and export production. On the occasion of PM Yingluck’s visit this time, top business representatives in various areas from both countries had a chance to meet and get connected with their counterpart of mutual interests.
Academic cooperation: Exchange of teachers, as well as IT in school management and educational development were discussed for the capacity building of human resources.
Promotion of connectivity: PM Yingluck discussed with the Sri Lankan President on how to reduce obstacle of air transportation and promote connectivity between Thailand and the South Asian region. Besides, Thailand also expressed interest in investing in aircrafts and ports in Sri Lanka and was willing to work closely with Sri Lankan related agencies for the purpose.
Multi-lateral cooperation: Both parties agreed on the promotion of both regional and international cooperation particularly under the frameworks of WTO, UNCTAD, BIMSTEC, and ACD.
After the meeting, PM Yingluck and the Sri Lankan President witnessed a signing ceremony of 4 MOUs and Agreements: 1) an Agreement on visa exemptions for diplomats and official passport holders, 2) an MOU on tourism cooperation, 3) an MOU on scientific and technological cooperation, and 4) an MOU on the establishment of sister cities relations between Thailand’s Ayuthaya province and Sri Lanka’s Kandy.
PM Yingluck and the Sri Lankan President then held a joint press conference on the result of the meeting. Both parties expressed their content on the development of relations and cooperation in various areas particularly in economy and connectivity.