COLOMBO (NewsRadio); President Ranil Wickremesinghe has left the island this morning for an official visit to Singapore and Japan.
President Wickremesinghe was accompanied by Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr. RHS Samaratunga, the President’s Director of International Affairs Dinouk Colombage, and the President’s Private Secretary Sandra Perera.
The President’s Media Division said while in Singapore, President Wickremesinghe is scheduled to meet the Law and Home Affairs Minister of Singapore K Shanmugam and several other high-ranking diplomats.
The PMD said President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to Japan, scheduled from tomorrow to the 27th of May, will include discussions with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and international matters.
Additionally, meetings are planned with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Finance Minister Shun’ichi Suzuki, and Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono.
President Wickremesinghe will also address the 28th Nikkei Forum FUTURE OF ASIA, which is scheduled to commence on Thursday, under the theme ‘Leveraging Asia’s power to confront global challenges’.
Organised by Nikkei annually since 1995, the FUTURE OF ASIA forum is considered to be one of the most important global conferences in Asia.
It is an international gathering where political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to address the forum on the opening day itself along with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Tran Luu Quang, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai and Former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Zhu Min.
Furthermore, the President will engage with representatives of the Japan-Sri Lanka Business Cooperation Council, the Japan-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association and the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
The PMD noted this is President Wickremesinghe’s second visit to Japan during his current tenure, following his attendance at the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September 2022.
The visit aims to strengthen cooperation and foster friendly relations between the two countries.
The Head of State is scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on Saturday.
