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.