Trade delegation off to Qatar

A Sri Lankan trade delegation comprising six members left for Qatar to promote exports of Sri Lankan goods, including foodstuffs, chemicals and medical equipment.

The delegation will also enter in to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) today.

The delegation is led by the Chairman of Sri Lanka-based International Foodstuff Corporation, Sarathchandra De Silva with the Consultant at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce P. Domingo Pillay. They will hold one-to-one meetings with their Qatari counterparts on Tuesday.

According to Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Qatar, S B Atugoda this is the third business delegation from Sri Lanka to visit Qatar in recent times.

The first was from Sri Lanka's construction industry, while the second was to promote exports of skilled manpower from the country's vibrant hospitality industry.

"A lot of star hotels in Qatar are expected to depute their representatives to Colombo soon to hire hospitality industry professionals," the ambassador said. "So far, we have focused on consolidating trade ties with Abu Dhabi and Dubai but are now concentrating on Qatar, which is a booming economy," he added.

Iraq to repatriate Lankans

Authorities in Iraq have decided to repatriate 21 Sri Lankans held in custody for not possessing valid visas. According to Lankan diplomats in Lebanon, the 21 Lankans are to be repatriated this week.

They were originally taken in for questioning over certain incidents but were later released. But the authorities arrested them for the second time for not possessing visas.

School vans crew registration

In a bid to reduce child abuse, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) will make arrangements to register school van drivers and their assistants.

The NCPA has found that private vans used for transport of schoolchildren have become hubs of child abuses and the Director, NCPA, Jagath Wellawatte has instructed the officials to implement this program.