The Government of Sri Lanka has made arrangements to open a Consulate General Office in Milan, Italy with effect from 01st February 2016, to serve the Country’s large expatriate community there, the Foreign Ministry said in a release. 

The Sri Lankan community in Milan, is one of the largest in Northern Italy. Milan is Italy’s second leading city with a metropolitan population of 1.3 million and one of the major financial centres in Europe. 

Milan, is also home to among the largest Consular Corps in the World, with 128 different countries having resident offices.

A Consulate in Milan has been a long felt need for the Sri Lankan community in northern Italy, with previously consular services in Northern Italy being carried out by a mobile consular service by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Rome. 

The setting up on a Consulate General office now provides the expatriate members of the Sri Lankan community much needed assistance and services. Accordingly, all requests for Consular Services from those residing in the Regions of Lombardy, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Piedmont, Trentino Alto Adige, Valle d’ Aosta and Veneto in Italy, would be handled by the Consulate General Office in Milan.

Mrs. Pradeepa Saram has been appointed as the Consul General. She is a member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service batch of 1998 and has served in Sri Lanka missions in the United Arab Emirates, Germany and the United Kingdom and was the former Actg. Director General of the Consular Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry.