Consulate General of Sri Lanka, Toronto

12 Stranded Sri Lankan Migrant Workers to be Repatriated from Somaliland with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Addis Ababa, and with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has succeeded in working towards ensuring the safe return of twelve Sri Lankan migrant workers stranded in Somaliland as a result of a labour dispute.

Sri Lanka does not have diplomatic and consular presence in Somaliland. Therefore, the Ministry and the Sri Lanka Embassy in Addis Ababa worked with the IOM Office in Hargeisa which interceded to negotiate with the employer concerned in Somaliland to resolve the labour dispute, secure the release of the Sri Lankans, and make arrangements for their safe return.

The twelve Sri Lankans are scheduled to return home shortly.

The Government of Sri Lanka acknowledges with gratitude the role of the IOM in providing much needed assistance to the Government and people of Sri Lanka on this occasion as well as in the past in many similar situations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges all Sri Lankans to be cautious in undertaking employment in high risk territories in which Sri Lanka does not have resident diplomatic and consular presence.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

28 May 2018

Launch of Trilingual interface for Foreign Ministry website

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The new interface of the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that was launched last month, at http://www.mfa.gov.lk is now Trilingual, and available in Sinhala and Tamil languages, in addition to English.

The language of the interface may be selected on the top right corner of the website. Quick links are as follows:-

English site: http://www.mfa.gov.lk/

Sinhala Site: http://www.mfa.gov.lk/sin/

Tamil site: http://www.mfa.gov.lk/tam/

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

28 May 2018

Appeal for relief assistance for victims of floods in Sri Lanka

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sri Lanka has informed that heavy pre-monsoon rains in Sri Lanka have caused the deaths of at least sixteen people and more than 130,000 people have been affected in 20 District as of 25^th May 2018. Four districts are on "red alert" for possible landslides.

Sri Lankan expatriates and well-wishers, who wish to contribute towards the flood relief work conducted by the National Disaster Relief Service Center, are kindly requested to send financial contributions as advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sri Lanka, directly to:

Disaster Relief Account No: 7040171

Bank of Ceylon, Torrington Square

Ministry of Disaster Management

Consulate General, Toronto

Sri Lanka High Commission, Ottawa

Sri Lanka showcases its Fight Against Corruption at UN High Level Debate

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Sri Lanka participated prominently in the High Level debate of the United Nations General Assembly to mark the 15^th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The event was held on 23 May 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and was well attended by ministers and other high officials of anti- corruption entities of member states. The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 31 October 2003, and entered into force upon ratification bythirty States on 14 December 2005. Today, a vast majority of United Nations Member States are parties (184 countries) to the Convention. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to become a party to the Convention in March 2004.

Visit of State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake to Jordan, 9-11 May 2018

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake paid an official visit to Jordan from 9 to 11 May 2018. During the visit State Minister Senanayake met with officials of Amman Chamber of Commerce and held discussions on bilateral trade issues. He encouraged the Jordanian authorities to explore the possibility of making value added tea catering to various localized palates using bulk tea imports from Sri Lanka. Currently, tea imported from Sri Lanka to Jordan is re-exported to neighboring Syria, Iraq and Palestine. Further, the Amman Chamber of Commerce officials agreed to take up the issue of restrictions placed on fruit imports from Sri Lanka with the Jordan Ministry of Agriculture. The Amman Chamber of Commerce also agreed to send a delegation comprising high-level business leaders to the Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2018 scheduled to be held from 19^th to 21^st June 2018 in Colombo.