The 5^th meeting of the Joint Readmission Committee between Sri Lanka and the European Community was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombo on 11^th March 2019.

The Meeting was co-chaired by Additional Secretary (Multilateral Affairs), Ahmed A. Jawad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Head of Unit of Irregular Migration and Return Policy, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG-Home) of the European Commission, Dan Rotenberg.

The Agreement between the European Community and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on the Readmission of Persons Residing without Authorisation, was signed on the 4^th of June 2004 and entered into force on 1^st May 2005.  It was part of an initiative to combat illegal migration and was also an indication of the commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka and the European Community to combat all forms of organized crimes.  The Agreement also guarantees the safe and orderly return of illegal migrants and failed asylum seekers back to their country of origin.

The discussions were held in a very cordial atmosphere with both Parties pledging support in fulfilling the obligations under the Agreement.

As provisioned in the Agreement, the Joint Readmission Committee deals with issues pertaining to the operationalization of the provisions of the Readmission Agreement, including the implementation of its provisions with the European Union Member States.

The Parties exchanged information on the implementation process of the Agreement, statistics with regard to returnees, return and reintegration support, skilled migration and the readmission policy of both Sri Lanka and the European Union.

On a proposal made by the Sri Lanka delegation, the potential for enhancing Sri Lanka’s presence in the European Union skilled labour migration market was explored.  Already a significant number of Sri Lankan migrant workers are employed in the European Union Member States.

The Sri Lanka Delegation comprised of senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Controller General of the Department of Immigration & Emigration, M.N.Ranasinghe and senior officials  from the Department of Immigration along with the Deputy General Manager, R.K.K.M.P. Randeniya, of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

The European Commission Delegation consisted of the European Union Delegation in Colombo and the European Centre for Returns (Frontex). Representatives from member states including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Romania and the United Kingdom were present as observers.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

12 March 2019