An awareness programme to educate the Sri Lankan migrant workers in Singapore on matters related to foreign remittances and foreign currency accounts was held at the High Commission of Sri Lanka recently with the collaboration of the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka. Over 100 participants attended the programme, the Foreign Ministry said.

Addressing the gathering, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Singapore Senarath Dissanayake acknowledged the contribution made by the migrant workers to strengthen the Sri Lankan economy. He stated that the High Commission has learnt the issues faced by Sri Lankan workers in Singapore due to the high service charges of the remittance agencies and banks. The High Commissioner thanked the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka for joining the High Commission to conduct this programme on a timely topic to sensitize the Sri Lankan migrant workers on matters related to foreign remittances.   

Assistant General Manager of the Foreign Customers Branch of the People’s Bank Aruni Liyanagunwardena expounded on the benefits of sending foreign remittances through a proper channel and maintaining a personal foreign currency account in a bank in Sri Lanka. She further elaborated on the new loan schemes and other facilities introduced by the People’s Bank specially targeting the migrant workers. The programme was concluded with a Q &A session where the migrant workers were able to get clarifications for their queries from the representative of the People’s Bank and the officials of the High Commission.