4th Meeting of Sri Lanka-Thailand Bilateral Political Consultations held from 27-28 Feb.

The fourth Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Thailand Bilateral Political Consultations was held on 27 and 28 February in Colombo at a senior official level.

The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam and the Thai delegation was headed by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Busaya Mathelin.

Sri Lanka and Thailand reaffirmed their commitment to further consolidate and advance bilateral, political and economic cooperation.  

A wide range of matters in areas of mutual collaboration and ongoing programs in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, science and technology, trade and investment, culture and tourism were reviewed and discussed. 

The possibility of utilising Royal Rain Making Technology in Sri Lanka and convening the fourth Joint Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation and third Joint Agricultural Working Group between Sri Lanka and Thailand were discussed in depth.

The two sides stressed the importance of continuing to work together at regional and multilateral fora for advancing shared interests and mutually important issues.  

Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Busaya Mathelin also called on Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana on the morning of 28 February.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka on 30 May 2012 paved the way for enhancing bilateral cooperation through political consultations. The first political consultation between Sri Lanka and Thailand was held in August 2012 in Colombo, with the second and third being held in December 2012 and June 2014 in Thailand.  Senior officials of the two foreign ministries and other line agencies also participated in the meeting.