Annual trade value in 2017 was $512.74 million (Bt 1.71 billion).

Thailand’s main exports to Sri Lanka include dried fish, woven cloth, sugar, automobile parts and para rubber. Thailand imports jewellery, silver bars, gold, plant products, ready-to-wear clothes, aquatic animals and electrical parts.

The FTA dialogue started last year but the memorandum of understanding on Strategic Economic Partnership signed on Friday between the two countries is expected to add momentum to the efforts.

The MoU was among four papers signed by the two countries during Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s meeting with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who invited the Thai premier to the South Asian country, in Colombo on Thursday.

They also discussed possible maritime connectivity between Colombo and the Thai province of Rayong, connecting the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation transportation master plan.

Other agreements signed on Friday covered the transfer of offenders and cooperation in the enforcement of penal sentences, technological collaboration related to value addition of primary products and cooperation on sustainable community development model.

As Buddhism is prominent in both Thailand and Sri Lanka, both leaders also agreed to promote religious tourism as well as cultural cooperation.

The supporting votes were 185 to 186 for each of the five laws, with just a few abstentions and no votes.

The five laws involve personnel and remunerations regarding the Courts of Justice, the Administrative Court, the Constitutional Court, independent organisations and public prosecutors.

Heads of the courts, the Office of the Attorney-General, and independent organisations would be among those benefiting from the proposed salary increases. Among the independent organisations involved are the Election Commission, Ombudsman’s Office, National Anti-Corruption Commission, Office of the Auditor General and National Human Rights Commission. In its motion for salary increases, the Cabinet cited the rising cost of living over the past four years.

The salary increases will require a budget of about Bt450 million, Deputy Premier Wissanu Krea-ngam said. The budget does not cover additional hikes for the NHRC. The hikes will be retroactive to December 1, 2014, except for the NHRC, which will see salary increases backdated to 2005.

THE NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) yesterday voted behind closed doors to endorse five of the seven candidates proposed to become new members of the Election Commission (EC), which will take charge of planning the upcoming election promised for next February, the first in five years.

According to the new organic law governing the agency, the commission will comprise seven members. Two candidates – Somchai Channarongkul, the former director of the Cooperative Promotion Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Peerasak Hinmuangkao, the former governor of Buri Ram province – did not make the cut in yesterday’s vote.

The two got three and 28 votes respectively, while the law requires that successful candidates be endorsed by a simple majority vote – or 124 votes of the 246 NLA members.

The five candidates to win endorsement from the legislature after three hours of deliberations were: Suntud Sirianuntapiboon, Ittiporn Boonprakong, Tawatchai Lertpaothai, Chatchai Chanpraisri and Pakorn Mahannop with 178, 186, 184, 184 and 185 votes respectively.

Suntud, an environmental technology professor, is the only candidate from the academic sphere. The rest are former government officials. Ittiporn was the former director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tawatchai was the former governor of Saraburi province.

Chatchai and Pakorn, meanwhile, are Supreme Court judges nominated by the court assembly for the EC posts.

The shortlisted candidates were scrutinised closely by the selection committee to ensure the EC members had the required credentials. Reportedly, Somchai had missed the post for allegedly being involved in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative scandal, while Peerasak had been questioned over his political impartiality – a quality crucial for an EC member.

With five candidates making it through the selection, the EC is still left needing to fill two vacancies. NLA whip secretary Somchai Sawangkarn said that the selection committee would have to find new candidates for the NLA to endorse to fully constitute the EC, as required by the organic law.

However, NLA vice president Surachai Liangboonlertchai had said on Wednesday, before yesterday’s vote, that five working commission members were enough for the quorum and could make decisions.

If the vacancies posed issues that affected the EC’s work, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday that the former commissioners could remain in office and serve as caretakers until the problems were sorted out.

Former EC member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said that in the meantime, successful candidates had 30 days to resign from any positions they currently occupied so the process of voting for the president could begin, as well as seeking Royal endorsement. Somchai reiterated that five commissioners were sufficient to make a quorum.

The current EC members were controversially dismissed when the new organic law took effect last year. Despite strong criticism, authorities argued that the new legislation gave more power to the agency, resulting in the need to fill the commission with members boasting higher qualifications.

The process to select the remaining two vacancies could take up to five or six months, Somchai said.

Some sources said the selection committee could be proactive and themselves approach potential candidates rather than waiting for applications. But Somchai said this could present a transparency problem and authorities should think hard about it.

This was the second time the NLA had voted on a shortlist of candidates. The first attempt last February saw all candidates being turned down by the legislators.

Prayut said yesterday that he had talked briefly with the American businessman at Chiang Rai airport during his visit to the northern province to follow up the operation to bring the Mu Pa academy footballers out of Tham Luang cave.

Musk flew directly from the United States and arrived in Chiang Rai on Monday night, a couple of days after his companies’ teams arrived to see how they could they provide technology to speed up the long rescue operation.

“[Musk] praised our operation and ability to control the scene. He is ready to support us with his technology,” Prayut said.

“They did go deep into the cave’s lobby. I asked him whether he could provide suitable equipment to help Thailand in future. He promised me [he would do so],” the premier added.

Prayut said that Thailand was ready to support Musk’s investment in the Kingdom, particularly on the hyped Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and regional connectivity.

“I told him about those and I think he was interested,” Prayut said. “He is looking at the EEC and is preparing satellite and communication projects. Why shouldn’t we seek matters of joint interest with them?”

Among high-tech ideas for the rescue operation was a miniature submarine to help carry the weakened boys out of the partially flooded cave, inflatable tubes with airlocks, radar location technology from Musk’s Boring Company and SpaceX and a Tesla Powerwall battery pack to charge up all electrical devices in the cave.

The items will all be left in Thailand after the operation is over for study and research purposes, according to Prayut.

This was confirmed by Musk, who tweeted yesterday morning that the “Wild Boar”, the mini-submarine named after the stranded football team, has been left “in case it may be useful in the future” in Thailand – which he called “so beautiful”.

The 47-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire had given updates via his Twitter account on his contact with Thai authorities, extending his staffs’ help, as well as developing and creating gadgets to use in the operation. “Primary path is basically a tiny, kid-size submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of a Falcon rocket as hull. Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely Robust,” Musk tweeted on Sunday.

The following day, he posted videos of the submarine moving in a swimming pool in Los Angeles. “With some mods, this could also work as an escape pod in space,” he said.

However, head of the rescue operation, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotanakorn, noted that the submarine was not “practical for the mission”.

“The equipment is technologically sophisticated but they don’t suit our cave rescue” he said.

IN A surprising revelation, former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh disclosed yesterday that he was divorced 10 years ago and has been remarried for just as long.

Retired General Chavalit, 86, admitted publicly for the first time that he had divorced his long-time wife Khunying Phankrua, 79, about 10 years ago and married another woman – whose identity is not yet clear.

Their marriage was registered sometime after his 86th birthday on May 15, according to a source close to Chavalit.

He was reached by Kom Chad Luek newspaper, a Nation sister publication, after a photo of him with the woman at what appeared to be an engagement ceremony appeared in social media.

Chavalit said he married the woman about 10 years ago after divorcing his first wife. He also said he’d moved out of the house in Nonthaburi he shared with Khunying Phankrua to stay with his new wife in a house in Bangkok’s Kaset-Nawamin area.

“She took good care of me when I had health problems. We became close and decided to live together as husband and wife,” Chavalit said of his new wife.

He added that he often accompanied her to social functions.

In 2016, he was hospitalised for several weeks after being injured in a fall.

A Facebook user named “Orathai Sorakan” on Sunday posted the photo of Chavalit and the woman holding hands at what appeared to be an engagement ceremony. The accompanying text said, “Most important for me. I now adopt the surname ‘Yongchaiyudh’. 19 May 2018.”

Chavalit’s aide, Lt-General Pirach Sawamibhak, said the woman had long wished to announce her status through social media. She continues to care for Chavalit as he has had difficulty walking since the accident, Pirach said.

Chavalit’s new wife is not well known. An Internet search turned up a news report about a woman named Orathai Sorakan filing for bankruptcy in November 2016.

Chavalit’s ex-wife Phankrua, who is best known by her nickname “Khunying Louis”, had asked for a divorce, according to the aide, who refused to discuss the matter further. “The reason for their separation is their personal matter,” he said.

Khunying Louis, who won several beauty contests in her youth, was Chavalit’s third wife.

The country’s 22nd prime minister, Chavalit served as the Royal Thai Army commander-in-chief between 1986 and 1990 and Supreme Commander from 1987 to 1990. He was one of the most powerful figures at that time, in the military as well as in political circles.

After his retirement from the service, Chavalit formed the political party New Aspiration. He played a key role in an alliance opposing coup leader General Suchinda Kraprayoon’s elevation as non-elected prime minister in 1992.

Subsequent street protests led to a deadly military crackdown later dubbed “Black May”.

In a general election held after the Suchinda government’s collapse, Chavalit’s party won the most seats in the House of Representatives and he became prime minister.

But the administration was short-lived. Chavalit stepped down just a little over a year later, as the Asian financial crisis took hold in 1997.

Chavalit later joined Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai Party, but his influence was on the wane. During political crises, he sometimes offered himself as a “linking chain” between the conflicting groups, but he was usually spurned.

While speaking with a group of veteran actors and singers who had called on him at Government House, General Prayut also denied he was trying to retain power, although he did not reject speculation over his perceived political ambition to return as government head after the next general election.

“I don’t want to retain power. I have never benefited from being prime minister. I am not a business owner, so I have no need to seek benefits. I am satisfied with what I already have,” he said.

Prayut, who also heads the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), boasted about the performance of his government, which was formed a few months after the 2014 coup that he led while serving as Army chief.

“Of all the post-coup administrations in the past, did they work like mine? My government keeps developing. Foreign countries praise us. No other developing countries have been able to achieve what we have done. This is what I want, for you to share this pride with me,” the PM told his visitors.

He also said that as the NCPO head, he was being investigated in 400 cases.

“I am not scared by the investigations. I am sincere about my work,” he insisted, without elaborating about any of the cases.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Monday that the government’s recent talks with the involved agencies and political parties had come up with four options.

The Council of State – which is the government’s legal advisory agency – is currently working around the four proposed solutions and will present drafts for the Election Commission (EC) to decide, said Wissanu, who oversees the government’s legal affairs.

The alternatives to primary voting are: to waive the requirement for the first election to be held under the new law; to hold primary voting by province or by region (and not in all constituencies as required by law); and to find a completely new method.

However, Wissanu explained that the new method should still allow participation by party members in the election candidates’ selection, in order to avoid violating the Constitution.

In the meantime, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order will also deliberate on the matter and submit its opinions to the EC when considering the options, according to Wissanu.

The trouble with the primary voting arises as the NCPO refuses to lift its ban on political activities, while the new organic law governing political parties has already taken effect and requires parties to make arrangements for the election within a given timeframe.

Primary voting is one thing the law obliges parties to fulfill in order to ensure participation by their members and to prevent party executives’ centralisation of power.

This is the first time the practice ihas been introduced in Thailand.

The political-activities ban and the fact that the general election is drawing near have got politicians anxious about how they will be able to conduct the internal voting in time.

Wissanu earlier divided the road map to democracy into three parts.

The first 90 days from June to around September will be taken for the two last organic laws on the Senate and MPs to get royal endorsement.

Any political activities require permission from the NCPO, which would consider them on a case-by-case basis, he said.

The second 90 days after the organic laws are promulgated, the ban would be partially lifted for parties to prepare for the election.

The last 150 days would be for organising the election, which according to the Constitution should take place within 150 days after the organic laws are in effect.

Kwanchai, whose real surname is Sarakham, was greeted by a large group of supporters and fellow red-shirt leaders, at his radio station Chomrom Kon Rak Udon in Udon Thani.

Among the red-shirt leaders greeting him were former Pheu Thai Party MPs Nattawut Saikua and Nisit Sinthuprai.

Kwanchai, 64, told his well-wishers that he was released from Udon Thani’s provincial prison shortly after 5am. He said normally convicts are released at about 9am.

He claimed the prison released him hours earlier than normal because it did not want a large gathering of his supporters to welcome him.

Kwanchai, a key red-shirt figure in the northeast, said on Friday that he felt happy to be reunited with his supporters again. He said that he would now have to focus on recovering from the assault-rifle attack on him in January 2014.

“Luckily, I didn’t suffer any serious illness while in jail. I only got some common colds,” he said.

In May 2016, the Supreme Court sentenced Kwanchai in absentia to two years in jail for masterminding the attacks on yellow-shirt protesters rallying against the Samak Sundaravej government at a public park in Udon Thani in July 2008. The administration was backed by the red shirts.

Kwanchai had jumped his bail before the verdict was issued. In July that year, he turned himself in before being sent to in Udon Thani prison.

CHIANG RAI Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn has emerged as one of the knights in shining armour during the mission to save 13 lives inside a flooded cave.

It took the Thai public less than a week to notice the key contribution from this man.

With Narongsak at the helm of the rescue-operation war room, clear plans were laid down. Officials and volunteers alike were assigned clear tasks and their efforts efficiently coordinated. Safety measures also received strong emphasis, ensuring there were no fatalities while trying to save the 12 young football players and the assistant football coach of Mu Pa Academy Mae Sai from the Tham Luang cave.

The 13 footballers got stranded when flash floods hit the cave on June 23.

Large-scale rescue efforts have since taken off. Although the operations of such a scale are difficult to manage, Narongsak has risen to the challenge.

Throngs of newshounds at the cave site were also a formidable challenge but Narongsak handled them with finesse.

While also being tough on their intrusive behaviour, Narongsak provided clear-cut briefings every now and then.

His communication skills, including the use of a Line chat group, were effective in dispelling rumours.

Now that the rescue mission has been successful in finding the missing 13, the public is keen to know more about Narongsak’s future.

Records show Chiang Rai is the first province where Narongsak has served as the governor.

He started his tenure in Chiang Rai one year ago.

When it was confirmed that 13 people had gone missing at the Tham Luang cave, Narongsak was still the province’s governor. So, he quickly set rescue efforts in motion and worked really hard.

He went inside the cave to check the situation every day.

He also visited the families of the stranded footballers every day.

Many observers were amazed at the multiple skills Narongsak demonstrated. But when the range of his educational qualifications are considered, his abilities do not come as a surprise.

Narongsak has four bachelors degrees. In 1985, he graduated from the Kasetsart University with a bachelor’s in engineering (civil). Later, he received a bachelor of law, bachelor of technology, and bachelor of public administration degrees from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.

Narongsak also had an overseas education stint. In 1988, he received a masters degree in survey engineering and geographic information from Ohio State University.

These many degrees reflect Narongsak’s extensive knowledge and his keen eagerness to study new things.

His wealth of knowledge firmly anchored the rescue operations, as various branches of knowledge have been applied to boost the operations.

Before Narongsak became the governor of Chiang Rai, he was a senior official at the Lands Department where he headed the department’s Map Transformation Group and Mapping Technology Office.

Throughout his career, he has been known for his integrity, courage and honesty.

He is known to speak up if he finds something wrong.

If he finds any project suspicious, he does not give his stamp of approval.

During his stint in Chiang Rai, he blocked several high-profile projects because he felt they were not in the best interests of the public.

Narongsak has never faced criticism or complaints from the people of Chiang Rai.

Earlier this week, the transfer order for Narongsak, 57, to take the post of Phayao governor took effect after its publication in the Royal Gazette. Although he will become the governor of a northern province smaller than Chiang Rai, he will remain the chief of the rescue operations until all the 13 footballers are safely evacuated from the cave.