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Lankan embassy holds talks with IOM

by Mohammed Rasooldeen in Riyadh

The Sri Lankan embassy held talks with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), Sunday, here to discuss arrangements for necessary repatriation of Sri Lankans who would be coming into Saudi Arabia in case of a disturbance in Kuwait as a result of the current war against Iraq.

The US forces have been using Kuwait as a launch pad for its operations against Iraq. The Chief of Mission of the IOM based in Cairo, Luliana Stefan visited the Sri Lankan embassy and held talks with the ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar regarding possible repatriation of Sri Lankans who will be coming into Kuwait on transit visas to go to Sri Lanka. During the talks, the envoy told the UN official that the mass repatriation of Sri Lankans could only be implemented in the event of an influx of Lankan refugees from Kuwait. Meanwhile, officials from the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh and senior members of the Sri Lankan Expatriates Society (SLES) in the Saudi capital, visited the Saudi-Kuwait border at Khafji to avail themselves of the prevailing conditions and to know how they could help in case if their countrymen move into the Kingdom in fear of the current situation in Kuwait. The fact-finding team was led by Ambassador Ansar. On his return from the Khafji border on Saturday, Ambassador Ansar said that there was no remarkable passenger traffic through the Saudi-Kuwait border.

"Only the Kuwaitis who come during their weekends were visible at the entry point," he added. The influx of expatriates from Kuwait could only be expected in the case of an escalation of war only, he stressed. However, he added that his mission has made arrangements for Sri Lankans who would be coming into the Kingdom in such a situation. There are some 200,000 Sri Lankans living in Kuwait.

The Chief Immigration Officer of the Saudi-Kuwait border said that all those who come to the border with valid travel documents will be taken into the Kingdom without any problems. The Saudi embassy in Kuwait has been working round-the-clock to issue transit visas to foreign nationals who are residents in Kuwait to pass through the Kingdom to reach their destinations.

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