Govt. spends Rs.8.3 bn on embassies in 2017: AG

18 June 2018 09:00 pm

Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe said today the government had spent Rs.8.3 billion to maintain embassies last year but that there was no mechanism to assess the benefits gained for the country.

He said with the assistance of all Sri Lankan embassies the Auditor General's Department was preparing a report on the diplomatic service.

“We spend billions of rupees to maintain embassies. But there is no mechanism to assess the benefits or the services rendered to the country by way of improving its image or the promotion of tourism and trade in the countries where the embassies are based,” Mr. Wijesinghe said at a seminar in Colombo. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)