Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will open a Regional Consular Office in Jaffna on Thursday (January 26), with the aim of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to the public, a statement said.

The Consular Office which will be located at the District Secretariat in Jaffna, will be declared open at 10.30 a.m with the participation of Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan, the Governor of the Northern Province Reginald Cooray, Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D. Swaminathan, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, and State Minister of Women & Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheshwaran.
 
The Regional Office will provide a range of consular services to the public that were previously provided only through the Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo, the ministry said. 

Services provided by the Regional Office will range from attestation of birth, marriage and death certificates as well as educational certificates for their use abroad; extending assistance to family members of Sri Lankans who may be stranded abroad; facilitation of redress and compensation claims of families of migrant workers; and repatriation of human remains from abroad.