Thailand has agreed to allow Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay in the country temporarily during which the ousted Sri Lankan president will search for a third nation that will offer him permanent refuge, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Wednesday.

Rajapaksa, who is currently in Singapore after fleeing Sri Lanka in July amid mass anti-government protests, is seeking refuge in Thailand as his Singapore visa runs out on Thursday. After flying to the Maldives on July 13, Rajapaksa then fled to Singapore, where he announced his resignation a day later after months of protests over the country's economic crisis.