Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand will visit Sri Lanka from November 16 to 20, 2025, and participate in a series of events, as disclosed by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe.

She told a team of Sri Lankan Journalists during a media visit arranged by Thai Airways via their General Sales Agent, Mac Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, that the highlight would be conducting over 100 Knee surgeries at Kandy hospital.

“This would be done free of charge with the participation of 30 doctors flying from Siriraj Hospital, the oldest and largest public hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.” The Royal Thai Embassy will assist with the event in Sri Lanka.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has made several visits to Sri Lanka, including an official four-day visit in August 2013. During her 2013 visit, she explored several historical sites with a Thai delegation.

She also disclosed that the evacuation of all 130 Sri Lankans who were kept against their will in Myanmar has been completed, and no Sri Lankans are remaining in those camps. “We worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), authorities in Thailand and Myanmar in this regard.”

“These Sri Lankans had been lured into Myanmar for employment, but became victims of human trafficking and cybercriminal operations.” Sri Lanka is currently completing the necessary steps for ratification of the FTA between the two countries. “

The Sri Lankan Government expects to finalize the ratification process as soon as possible, recognizing the potential benefits of the FTA, such as increased trade, economic growth, and improved diplomatic ties between the two countries.”

She also said that Tourist arrivals from Thailand to Sri Lanka gradually increased until 2019 and then decreased primarily due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now increasing from 2022.

“The recovery continued, with 4,922 tourists from Thailand visiting Sri Lanka, which was an increase of 185.3% compared to 2022.

The number of tourists from Thailand increased by 47.2% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 7,246 tourists in 2024.

The number of tourist arrivals from January to April 2025 was 3,467, representing a 16.2% increase compared to 2024, which recorded 2,983 arrivals.

This is a strong indicator of continued growth, with numbers rapidly approaching the levels seen before the pandemic in 2019.

“She also thanked Thai Airways and MAC for actively promoting Sri Lanka as a destination.”

The ambassador said that with Thailand imposing the ‘Free Visa Arrival’ policy, one can observe more Sri Lankan arrivals to Thailand.

Most of their popular destinations are Bangkok, the Golden Temple, and Pattaya.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the upcoming Group of Seven summit in a phone call on Friday (6), as the two sides look to mend ties after relations soured in the past two years.

The leaders agreed to remain in contact and looked forward to meeting at the G7 summit later this month, a readout from Carney’s office said.

India is not a G7 member but can be invited as a guest to its annual gathering, which will be held this year in Kananaskis in the Canadian province of Alberta, from June 15 to 17.

“Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister (Carney) … thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit,” Modi said in a post on X.

Modi also stated in his post on Friday that India and Canada would work together “with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests.”

Bilateral ties deteriorated after Canada accused India of involvement in a Sikh separatist leader’s murder, and of attempting to interfere in two recent elections. Canada expelled several top Indian diplomats and consular officials in October 2024 after linking them to the murder and alleged a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.

New Delhi has denied the allegations, and expelled the same number of Canadian diplomats in response.

India is Canada’s 10th largest trading partner and Canada is the biggest exporter of pulses, including lentils, to India.

Carney, who is trying to diversify trade away from the United States, said it made sense for the G7 to invite India, since it had the fifth-largest economy in the world and was at the heart of a number of supply chains.

“In addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there’s been some progress on that, that recognizes issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to prime minister Modi in that context,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

Four Indian nationals have been charged in the killing of the Sikh separatist leader.

The President’s Media Division (PMD) has issued an official statement highlighting a serious procedural irregularity involving the release of a prisoner from Anuradhapura Prison, who was not approved under the presidential pardon granted for the 2025 Vesak festival.

According to the PMD, W.H. Athula Thilakaratne, an inmate serving a sentence for financial fraud, was released despite not being included in the list of prisoners approved by the President for a general pardon.

The PMD clarified that under Article 34(1) of the Constitution, the President has the authority to grant pardons to convicted prisoners.

Accordingly, a list of prisoners selected by the Prison Superintendents is forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.

The list is examined by the Ministry of Justice and then sent to the Presidential Secretariat. With the approval of the President, those prisoners are granted a general pardon, the PMD stated.

In this instance, the official list—submitted by the Commissioner General of Prisons on May 6, 2025—included 388 names.

However, the name of the individual imprisoned at Anuradhapura Prison in connection with financial fraud was not included in that list.

“This individual was not included in the list of 388 prisoners granted a presidential pardon,” the PMD stated.

In light of this development, the Presidential Secretariat lodged a formal complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (June 6), under the title “Release of a Prisoner without Presidential Approval under the Presidential Pardon.”

The PMD further confirmed that a formal investigation has been launched, and disciplinary measures will be taken against any officials found responsible for the irregular release.(adaderana.lk)
(This story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)