The Ministry of Foreign Relations has held consultations over the past 2 days with its Heads of Missions based in 67 cities across the world, to facilitate the wellbeing and safety of Sri Lankans overseas.
The Ministry has reportedly held consultations keeping in mind the concerns of Sri Lankans overseas amidst the rapid spread of the COVID-19 and the inability to return to Sri Lanka.
Issuing a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Relations said it was preparing for any exigencies they could have to meet in the coming days.
In a series of tele-conferences led by Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha with Heads of Mission/Post in 5 regional clusters (South Asia, Middle East, South East Asia & East Asia, Africa & Latin America, as well as North America & Europe), issues that demanded attention in respect of Overseas Sri Lankans were discussed, in keeping with the Government’s policy directives, on the COVID -19 pandemic.
The focal point of the Foreign Ministry on COVID -19 Action and DG/East Asia Mr. Kandeepan Balasubramaniam, Additional Secretaries, respective territorial DGs and relevant functional DGs of the Ministry were associated in the discussions. The Acting General Manager of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), W.M.V. Wansekara, also attended some of the consultations which focused on Sri Lankan migrant receiving countries, it said.
The Ministry further said that overall, all Sri Lanka Missions, even though mostly in ‘work from home’ mode, have been constantly interacting with the student communities and the migrant workers in their respective stations and have established 24-hour emergency hotlines providing easy access to the Mission staff. While the Missions are in the process of updating databases of Sri Lankans in their respective stations, social media platforms are also being used to maintain and enhance links by which information could be shared. The Sri Lanka Missions in these regions have assured the community members and students studying overseas that requests for return of Sri Lankans will be considered once the spread of the virus is contained in the country.
Sri Lanka Missions in the Middle East, as well as South East Asia, East Asia, Africa and Southern Europe, which host the largest concentration of Sri Lankan expatriate workers, informed of their efforts to constantly network with Sri Lankans overseas and the community representatives, assisting them in matters concerning emergency passports, visa extensions, and employment contracts, by discussing with the respective local authorities and intervening and seeking clearances, as required, the release further read.
Highlighting the need to assist this important segment of migrant labour, one of largest contributors to Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange, the Ministry stressed that the Missions and the SLBFE should also look after and facilitate the well-being of Sri Lankans without valid visas, unemployed and also those not registered with the SLBFE.
It was noted that some Sri Lanka Missions have liaised with local charities that support people who are unemployed, recruiting agencies, other community organizations, International organizations such as IOM and Caritas, to render assistance to Sri Lankans until such time they can be safely repatriated back to Sri Lanka. The declaration of amnesty periods by some Middle Eastern countries and the ramifications of such action, were also discussed during the tele conferences.