109 Sri Lankans stranded in Saudi & 22 in Oman Airports

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

At least 109 Sri Lankans are stranded in Saudi Arabia Airport while 22 were stranded in Oman Airport, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vjitha Herath said while assuring that some of them might have already returned to Sri Lanka.  

Minister Herath said some who were stranded in Oman airport may have returned to Sri Lanka yesterday on board a Oman Air flight which arrived in Sri Lanka during the early hours of yesterday.  

The Minister said the government will have to work in accordance with security arrangements imposed by various affected countries and the precautions taken by various airlines.  

Responding to a question raised by Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, the Minister said there hade been ten instances where relatives of some expatriates had requested the return of their relatives back to Sri Lanka. “Four people have informed the Sri Lankan authorities that they have lost communication with their loved ones in the Middle East. In addition there have been inquiries on latest situation of the war while there have been only once instance where Sri Lankans have inquired about their family members in Middle East,”he said.  

However, the Minister assured that there has been no reduction of remittance as a result of the conflict in Middle East. Also he said there has been no impact on oil supplies as oil ships which come into Sri Lanka take sea routes along Singapore and South Korea. “Even tourists from Europe keep on coming to Sri Lanka,” he said. The Minister highlighted that Sri Lankan government has taken an optimistic approach assuming that the situation will not get worse. Premadasa who responded said Sri Lanka should adopt a pessimistic approach assuming that the situation will get worse.  

“The government has done its utmost to minimise the effect of the war and is ready to face any situation,” the Minister said.  

He said the Sri Lankan President had requested relevant heads of state to act with restrain and to avoid provocation.