Thai PM signs four agreements and addresses Parliament

Saturday, 1 June 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Uditha Jayasinghe

The Thai Prime Minister kicked off a two-day visit to Sri Lanka yesterday by signing four agreements and meeting President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also made a short speech to the Sri Lankan Parliament, emphasising the strong relations between the two countries before setting off to the hill town of Kandy.

“Thailand and Sri Lanka have a 57-year-old partnership with many centuries of religious ties before that. Therefore, we must work together to ensure that both countries can gain the highest benefits from this enduring friendship,” she told legislators at Parliament.

She called for greater cooperation among private businesses in the agricultural and fishery industries.

She also touched on the 260th anniversary of the Siam Wong Nikaya, a prominent Thai-Buddhist sect in Sri Lanka and is expected to visit the first Thai Buddhist temple established in Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Ahead of her visit to Parliament, Shinawatra was whisked off to the Presidential Secretariat to sign four agreements that include cooperation on tourism as well as science and technology, a sister cities partnership between Kandy and Ayutthaya, and a visa exemption for officials and diplomatic passport holders.

On her arrival, Shinawatra met with a Thai business delegation in Colombo whose visit coincided with her own. The business delegation headed by Vice Minister of Industries Piyawat Niyomrerks included about 30 representatives who had a short meeting with the Prime Minister before attending a luncheon organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest business organisation in the island.

“I would also like to add that the trade and investment between our two counties have very strong frameworks. We entered into a first agreement on investment protection in 1996 and then we also have the Memorandum of Understanding between the Board of Investment in Thailand and the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka to help facilitate more trade and investment between both countries. We also have Convention of Avoidance of Double Taxation that will help relieve the burden for investors. So these create a good basis for us to foster and further our cooperation in trade,” Niyomrerks told the gathering.

Around 30 delegates from several industries including tourism, food, cosmetics, green energy, engineering and water purification were present. The group also had informal business to business discussions ahead of the business lunch and was also given a presentation on investing in Sri Lanka by the Board of Investment.

“I sincerely hope that this is not a one shot event but will pave the way for many more tangible business deals between our two countries. It is my belief that the private sectors of our two countries should make better use of our strategic locations in enhancing our competitive advantage. We look forward to inviting you all to Thailand,” the Vice Minister added.

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