On Wednesday (July 26), Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, the recently appointed Sri Lankan ambassador to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), handed over his credentials to Dr. Kao Kim Hourn.
Prof. Colombage and Dr. Kao have talked about measures to improve ASEAN-Sri Lanka relations in order to benefit their respective populations more.
The ASEAN leader also praised Sri Lanka for its efforts in overcoming its economic difficulties.
In a meeting with a group from the Sri Lankan presidential secretariat last month, the ASEAN general-secretary made a suggestion that Sri Lanka might join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact, the largest trade agreement in the world.
The ten ASEAN members, together with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, are all included in the RCEP. The GDP of each of these nations accounts for 32% of the global GDP.
