The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia, Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage paid a courtesy call on Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia Ida Fauziyah on Tuesday.

While expressing concerns about the current economic challenges faced by the Sri Lankan government, Minister Fauziyah agreed to exchange information on employment opportunities between the two countries.

She mentioned four national priorities of the Indonesian government in strengthening the manpower sector, notably, enhancing the national economic stability, improving the quality and competence of human resources, strengthening infrastructure facilities and strengthening political and legal framework to secure the manpower sector.

Highlighting the decrease of unemployment rate in Indonesia in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021, the minister expressed willingness to share best practices in the employment sector with the Sri Lankan government.

Ambassador Colombage stated that there is a huge demand in foreign countries for expatriate workers, but the supply of experienced workers from Sri Lanka is very low compared to the demand.

He also mentioned that the Sri Lankan government has introduced a new scheme for public servants which enable them to work abroad. He also informed of the preferred job sectors of Sri Lankan employees and sought employment opportunities for Sri Lankans in Indonesia.

The minister instructed Secretary General of the Ministry Prof. Anwar Sanusi to work closely with the Sri Lanka Embassy in this regard.