President appreciates migrant workers’ contribution

Raja Waidyasekera Tissamaharama special corr

Sri Lanka has sent over two and half lakhs of persons for foreign employment during the last year and they have substantially contributed to the country’s economic well-being. It is the government’s intention to send well-trained persons for employment to any part of the world without limiting them to the Middle East and it is with this intention that a Migrant Resource Centre has been opened, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

The President made this observation having opened the Migrant Resource Centre at Yayawatte, Godigamuwa, in Tangalle yesterday.

“I am very happy to be able to perform an act that bring joy to us all Sri Lankans. Before my government took over, there was no planned system of sending persons for foreign employment. My government has rectified those lapses and thanks to energetic Minister Dilan Perera we now have a proper system of recruiting and sending our people with an insurance for them all. I am glad that the minister has taken steps to see that more and more skilled personnel are sent for overseas jobs unlike in the past”.

The President said that the Centre would also be a place where the youth will learn other languages necessary for foreign employment. This Centre will also provide the necessary man power to run the Mattala Airport and Hambantota Port. If we fail to mobilise the necessary man power, we would have to bring down persons from other countries to cater to our needs. We feel that there was a need for such a facility to equip our locals.

“Now we can be assured that the Centre we open today will meet our future needs”. The President said that such a well-planned system of recruitment and sending persons for foreign employment with the necessary training will bring huge dividends to the country and enhance the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

“ This amount US dollars six million last year and the money was utilized to import fuel to generate electricity. If we have no fuel we cannot have electricity. Our vehicles cannot move. True, small countries like ours face the problem of fuel price hikes and this is not limited to us but affect many countries”. There was a time when powerful countries were compelled to close down their banks due to financial crises but we in Sri Lanka still continued with our banking without any obstructions.This was due to the correct policies followed by us, the President added.

“ We have now entered a period where there is no terrorism. There is development in every sphere. We can see that development in every place we visit. My government is committed to take forward this development. I am confident that the dawn of the New Year will take us to a prosperous future. Let us join hands together and work to take development forward. We are today taking development to the village and we did not forget the village .We do not have our eye on elections but work for the progress of the nation. We do our duty by the people who go for foreign employment. We show them how they should use their hard-earned money to make their lives productive. I am of the view that we should draw up a plan to look after those who return to the country after their employment abroad.

Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera was also present at the opening of the Migrant Resource Centre.