The 05^th Round of Sri Lanka – Thailand Bilateral Political Consultations was held on 28 August 2023 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardane, and the Thai delegation was headed by Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan.

During the discussion, a wide range of areas of mutual collaboration in the fields of trade & investment, defence, culture, fisheries and tourism were reviewed for further progress. Foreign Secretary Wijewardane informed the Thai side that as Sri Lanka moved forward with the stabilization of its economy, it placed high priority on enhanced bilateral relations with Thailand, as well as the broader ASEAN region. Sri Lanka has prioritized the conclusion of the Thailand-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. In addition, Sri Lanka intends to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, the world’s largest free trade area that came into effect on 01 January 2022. As one of the 15 founding members of the RCEP, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane requested Thai support for Sri Lanka’s application.

Foreign Secretary Wijewardane also congratulated Thailand on the progress made in BIMSTEC under its current Chairmanship, including initiating the Vision of a Prosperous Resilient and Open BIMSTEC by 2030.

The Thai Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs updated Sri Lanka on the latest developments in Thailand including the appointment of Srettha Thavisin as the new Prime Minister of Thailand. Permanent Secretary Charoensuwan welcomed Sri Lanka’s recovery since last year and informed that Thai technical assistance on various programmes under the Two-Year Implementation Plan will continue to support Sri Lanka’s efforts.

The two sides also reviewed ongoing developments in the regional and multilateral contexts including in ASEAN, BIMSTEC, IORA and the United Nations.

Parallel to the bilateral political consultations, a negotiation and business matching session was conducted between leading private sector companies of the two countries in the morning at the Siam Nivasa.

The Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry in the afternoon.

Foreign Secretary Wijewardane was supported by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as officials from the Ministries of Defence and Fisheries, the Department of Commerce and the Department of External Resources (ERD). The Thai side included Thai Ambassador to Sri Lanka Poj Harnpol and other senior officials of the Thai Foreign Ministry.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): 32 stranded Sri Lankan migrant workers have been repatriated from Oman on August 17 in a joint operation by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Muscat, the Omani Foreign Ministry and the Department of Immigration of the Royal Oman Police.

Sri Lankans have been warned by the Embassy not to fall victim to human traffickers and arrive in Oman without confirmed jobs, after more illegal migrants were repatriated.

These migrant workers had entered Oman on visit/tourist visas with the anticipation of finding jobs and subsequently overstayed their visas without securing proper employment, the Embassy revealed in a statement.

“The issue of migrant workers arriving on visit/tourist visas and then overstaying due to lack of viable employment has been a challenge faced by many potential workers. From November 2022 to date the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oman has facilitated repatriation of more than 400 stranded migrants with support extended by the Omani authorities,” the statement read.

The stranded Sri Lankan migrant workers were provided with essential humanitarian support, including medical assistance, accommodation, and access to basic necessities by the Embassy.

The Oman Sri Lanka Social Club and other well-wishers have also extended their support to the Embassy during the operation.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat, Oman urged all Sri Lankans to seek jobs only though licenced agencies and register with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment prior to arriving in the Gulf state.

An Indian National Defence College (NDC) delegation led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Sachdeva called on State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at his office in Colombo yesterday (28).

The delegation of senior foreign military officers who arrived at the Island as part of their tour on strategic neighbourhood studies was warmly received by the State Minister and had a cordial discussion with them.

Representing the delegation, Brig. Rajat Kumar and Col. Ushakov Rusian Leonidovich were also present at the meeting.

At the culmination of the discussion, the Minister Tennakoon conveyed his best wishes to the visiting delegation for successful future endeavours.

Assistant Defence Advisor to the Indian High Commision Lt. Col. Puneet Sushil was also present at the event.

Colombo (LNW): The Ministry of Health announced that it will be conducting a full investigation into the recent death of a patient at the National Hospital in Colombo upon being administered an antibiotic.

The decision was taken during a special discussion held on the matter yesterday (28) at the Ministry, according to Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. G. Wijesuriya.

He noted that the cause of the death of the patient was an infection caused by the antibiotic administered, and the post-mortem examination had raised concerns about it.

The deceased was a 50-year old male who was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital for treatment for a cut wound.

In the meantime, the use of the antibiotic in question, Co-Amoxiclav, has temporarily been suspended.

Colombo (LNW): The government is undertaking a programme to issue national identity cards to those above the age 40 who are unable to obtain one due to the absence of a birth certificate, Commissioner General of the Department of Registration of Persons Pradeep Saputhanthri said.

Accordingly, a circular was issued in this regard to all Divisional Secretariats, he added.

Sri Lankans above the age of 40, who are permanently resided in a Grama Niladhari Division and are registered in the voter’s register, but have not yet obtained a national identity card due to the aforementioned issue, will be eligible to apply for the opportunity.

1. Fort Magistrate prohibits 24 individuals belonging to trade unions and political parties from entering several areas in Colombo: nevertheless, massive crowds demonstrate opposite the Fort Railway station against the Domestic Debt Re-structuring, the slashing of EPF & ETF Member balances, and the hardships of the IMF Programme.
   
2. Cardinal Ranjith says if a bridge is to be constructed connecting Sri Lanka and India, a referendum should be held in order to seek the people’s consent for such a move: also says it is the rulers who betrayed the country to foreigners throughout history.
   
3. Public Security Minister Tiran Alles charges that the Catholic Church hadn’t given the Govt an opportunity to thrash out all issues regarding the continuing controversy over the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage: claims the Church, instead of frankly discussing any outstanding issues with the government and law enforcement authorities, had turned down that request.
   
4. Brother of Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Chairman Uvais Muhammad says the proposed forensic audit to ascertain the financial status of the CPC could be conducted despite the absence of a former senior official: also says the CPC had chosen a private organisation to conduct the forensic audit, on the instructions of the Power and Energy Minister.
   
5. State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe says the Treasury has released Rs.5 bn to banks to provide relief for 800,000 “Aswasuma” beneficiaries and the funds will be transferred to the relevant accounts during the next couple of days.
   
6. Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles says unregistered Non-Governmental Organisations will not be allowed to operate in Sri Lanka.
   
7. Around 20 public officials reported to have flouted a Presidential Secretariat directive to travel on Economy class instead of Business class for their official visits overseas: a Treasury circular to be issued soon to secure the reimbursements of the difference in fare if it has been out of state funds: the original circular was issued 4 months ago to cut down state expenses.
   
8. Dept of Meteorology announces that the sun will be directly over the latitudes of SL from Aug 28 to Sept 7.
   
9. State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says legal action will be taken against organizations and individuals who are carrying out or involved in Pyramid schemes; Central Bank also warns people against participating in Pyramid schemes, deeming it a punishable offence.
   
10. FIFA Council lifts the suspension of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, but will continue to monitor the situation until the FFSL elections on September 29, 2023.

Colombo (LNW): Secretary to the Ministry of Information Technology Prof. Niranjan Gunawardena has reportedly decided to resign from his position.

Prof. Gunawardena also serves as the Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and recently has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa.

Gunawardena’s decision to resign from his position as the Secretary to the IT Ministry comes upon the pressure exerted by what speculators describe as ‘a higher fist’ to award the digital identity card tender to a well known blacklisted company, sources said.

Gunawardena, on the other hand, responded to the speculations stating that he has decided to resign from his position at the Ministry due to being appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Moratuwa University.