Outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena in Bangkok on Wednesday, saying Thailand and Sri Lanka's bilateral ties go as far back as over 700 years.

Senior Sri Lankan lawmaker Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in on Friday as the new prime minister, a day after the swearing-in of a new president as the Indian Ocean nation grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades.