Lankan expats in Bahrain appeal for embassy

BAHRAIN: Sri Lankan expatriates in Bahrain have appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to set up a Sri Lankan embassy in Bahrain which they claim is an urgently felt need considering the absence of any state mechanism in the tiny emirate to address their concerns and hardships.

In a letter addressed to the President the expats say that while India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and the Philippines have embassies in Manama to support their expatriate citizens, although their numbers are much less compared to Sri Lankans, Sri Lanka has no embassy or consulate which is a glaring deficiency.

They also point out that the absence of an embassy in Bahrain was also causing a loss to Sri Lanka in economic terms since our traditional exports such as tea arrive there only through third parties.

Foreign investment opportunities too had been lost sight of since there were no competent persons appointed to explore such avenues. The letter also pointed out that although there was a high demand for skilled workers in Bahrain, the lack of co-ordination with local training institutes in Sri Lanka had deprived many Lankans the opportunity of lucrative jobs.

They also point out that the Indian Embassy in Manama had entered into a condition with employers to register all employment contracts with the Embassy thus giving their workers a sense of security moral uplift whereas Sri Lankans do not have an office to accept a complaint leaving them vulnerable targets of interested parties.