4 May 2020 12:00 am
By Indika Sri Aravinda
Over 600 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Kuwait have sought to return to Sri Lanka using the amnesty period granted to them.
The visa period for the migrant workers had expired and an amnesty period was granted to them till April 25th.Speaking to Daily Mirror, some of the migrant workers, who did not wish to be named, said that the Kuwait authorities are willing to arrange air travel to the migrants to return to Colombo. However, they said that the Sri Lankan authorities have not yet responded positively to the offer.
They requested President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to intervene and bring them back like several Sri Lankans were brought back from other parts of the world.
When contacted, Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage told Daily Mirror that priority had been given to bring back Sri Lankan students overseas. However, he said that discussions are also ongoing at the Ministry of Foreign Relations to bring back Sri Lankans stranded in Kuwait.