Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, is scheduled to attend the 3rd Thailand-Sri Lanka Joint Commission Meeting on Bilateral Relations during 1 - 3 May 2013 in Colombo.

The 3rd Thailand-Sri Lanka Joint Commission Meeting will focus on core economic issues such as trade and investment, agriculture, fisheries, energy, tourism, as well as culture, technical cooperation and connectivity. Apart from the deepening Thailand-Sri Lanka relations, which are based on solid religious and cultural foundations, the goal of this Meeting is also to elevate the level of cooperation, bilaterally and multilaterally, for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries.

The 1st Joint Commission Meeting was hosted by Thailand in 2000, while the 2nd Joint Commission Meeting was held in Sri Lanka in 2003. There was a ten-year gap between the 2nd and the 3rd Meeting due to political instability in Sri Lanka. As the civil war in Sri Lanka came to an end in 2009, the Sri Lankan government is now rehabilitating the country in all aspects as well as promoting liberal economic policy in trade and investment.

The year 2013 also marks the 260th Anniversary of the Establishment of Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka. In the Ayutthaya period, King Borommakot assigned the Venerable Upali Maha Thero as Chief of the Royal missionaries to revive Buddhism and to ordain Buddhist monks in Sri lanka. As a result of this endeavour, Siam Nikaya was established and has become the major sect of Buddhism in Sri Lanka today. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, Thailand and Sri Lanka, therefore, agreed to organize various activities, exchanges of visits and meetings including the 3rd Thailand-Sri Lanka Joint Commission Meeting and the Official Visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand to Sri Lanka in 31 May-1 June this year.