Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath said on Friday that Sri Lanka is ready to expand its economic, cultural and historical ties with Thailand through greater collaboration in trade, tourism, technology and sustainable development.
The minister was chief guest at the 25th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka–Thailand Business Council, held in Colombo, Newswire reported on Saturday. He commended the council for 25 years of work in strengthening bilateral economic relations.
Mr. Herath noted growing import and export volumes between the two countries, and highlighted opportunities for further collaboration in trade, tourism, transport and logistics, technology and sustainable development. He stressed the importance of maintaining strong partnerships and mutual trust between the two governments and the private sectors.
“Our friendship, strengthened by religious, cultural and historical ties, is further reinforced today through growing economic cooperation and strong people-to-people connections,” the minister said.
The 25-year milestone for the bilateral business council comes as Thai investment in Sri Lanka has been steady through a wave of broader regional realignment. Bilateral trade between the two countries has historically been Thailand-skewed, with Sri Lanka running a structural deficit on rubber, automotive components and processed food. Sri Lanka’s tourism ministry has separately been pushing Bangkok as a high-value source market, with the Sri Lanka–Thailand visa-on-arrival arrangement still in force.
Mr. Herath’s chief-guest appearance came on the day Sri Lanka Tourism received the first-degree laureate award at the Let’s Travel Forum in Moscow, capping a busy week for the foreign-affairs and tourism portfolio under his combined ministry.
Source: Sri Lanka, Thailand seek to expand trade and economic cooperation — Newswire, June 20.
