A total of 59,419 Sri Lankans living abroad have registered on the ‘Contact Sri Lanka’ online portal of the Ministry of Foreign Relations as of April 15.

The Ministry said 21,575 of these Sri Lankans are from the Middle East.

This online portal currently serves as an ideal platform for information sharing and engagement with the Ministry and the Missions particularly at this time of crisis, the Ministry said further.

It was jointly created by the Foreign Ministry and the Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) on March 26, for the benefit of Sri Lankans living overseas.

The portal is hosted on the Ministry web page www.mfa.gov.lk and can also be accessed at www.contactsrilanka.mfa.gov.lk.

A dedicated team of officials have been assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Relations to respond to queries.

The establishment of the portal was pursuant to the call made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for coordinated efforts by all Government stakeholders to fight the COVID-19 outbreak and to harness digital technology to prompt faster and more efficient service delivery.

All Sri Lankans living abroad have been invited to register voluntarily on the platform’s basic functionalities allowing the Government of Sri Lanka to reach out and provide assistance during emergencies such as the COVID19 outbreak.

This platform allows the Ministry to access real-time data for quick action.

The open-access platform also facilitates Sri Lankans overseas to interact between government stakeholders, promoting greater access to the Government services through a single centralized point at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. This Portal also connects Sri Lankans living abroad with the network of Sri Lanka Missions abroad.