Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Harsh de Silva visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to resolve long-standing Consular and labour issues faced by Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle Eastern country. 

During his meetings with Saudi’s Labour Minister Dr Mofarrej Saad Al- Hoqubani and Deputy Interior Minister Dr Ahmed Al Salem, he articulated the problems of stranded Sri Lankan employees and ‎convinced the two Ministers of urgent need for finding solutions in the immediate future. 
 
“Both Ministers agreed to devise a mechanism for arranging exit permits for ensuring early repatriation of stranded persons to Sri Lanka.” At the request of Dr Harsha de Silva, the two Saudi Ministers also agreed to periodically share ‎employment details of Sri Lankan workers during their stay in Saudi Arabia, a statement said.
 
“This would be a major breakthrough as it would enable the Embassy to speedily reach out to Saudi employers of Sri Lankans workers who are faced with serious problems and are in need of urgent Consular and welfare assistance from the Embassy.” In the absence of such details, the Embassy presently finds it hard to address their issues promptly, it said.
 
As  a result of his successful efforts  at the meetings with Saudi’s Minister of Social ‎Affairs Majed bin Abdullah Al Qasby and Deputy Minister for Public Health Abdulaziz Abdullah Bin Saeed, Dr  Harsha de Silva ‎received assurances from the Saudi Ministers that the  hospital access would be provided to stranded Sri Lankans at the shelter of the Embassy when they face medical emergencies.‎ 

The Deputy Minister for Public Health also agreed to make arrangements to expedite conducting postmortems and to minimize delays in dispatching the human remains to Sri Lanka.
‎
During his visit from May 01 to 04, the deputy minister met with Saudi Arabia’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Nizar bin Obaid Madani and highlighted the significance of excellent bilateral relations while conveying sincere thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for cooperation and assistance towards Sri Lanka.‎
 
“The above meetings with the Saudi dignitaries produced positive outcomes in resolving longstanding Consular and labour issues.” Dr de Silva appreciated the positive responses from the Saudi Ministers and cordially invited them to visit Sri Lanka .‎

‎Dr Harsha de Silva found time to address the community of Sri Lankan Professionals in Riyadh and to encourage their initiatives to promote trade, investment, tourism and culture between the two countries, the statement said.