COLOMBO (News 1st) – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe departed for Hanoi, Vietnam today for a two-day official tour.

The Prime Minister’s Media Unit said that the Premier is expected to attend the Indian Ocean Conference. The theme for this year’s conference is “Building Regional Architectures”. It aims to promote strategic cooperation and trade ties between countries, consolidate security frameworks and administrative processes, and contribute to maintaining regional peace, stability, development, and connectivity.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to address the inaugural session of the conference on the 27th of August. The annual summit, jointly initiated by Singapore, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, is attended by Heads of State of the Region, Ministers, Diplomats, academics, officials, and professionals. This year’s event is hosted by Vietnam.

An eight-member delegation has joined the Premier on his visit. According to officials at the Katunayake airport, the PM boarded a Singapore Airlines flight bound for Vietnam early this morning.