Q1 earnings by migrant workers $ 890m

by Mohammed NAALIR

Sri Lanka has earned a sum of 890 million US dollars foreign exchange in the first quarter of 2010 through remittances of migrant workers in Middle East countries.

The percentage of migrant workers has also increased by 22 per cent, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman, Kingsley Ranawaka said.

In the first quarter of 2009, 54,990 workers left the country on foreign employments.

The number increased to 67,136 in the first quarter of 2010.

Sri Lanka received a larger number of employment opportunities from Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and United Arabic Emirates in 2010 than in 2009.

According to Ranawaka the percentage of employment opportunities provided are Qatar-72 per cent, Kuwait-32 per cent, Jordan-28 per cent and United Arabic Emirates-11 per cent.

Talks with Bahrain and Malaysian authorities to obtain a larger number of employment opportunities have also succeeded, he said.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka received 2600 employment opportunities from South Korea.

Sri Lanka recorded foreign exchange earnings of 890 million US dollars in the first quarter of this year as against 780 US dollars in 2009.

The percentage of foreign exchange earnings have increased by 14 per cent in 2010.

The Bureau intends increasing foreign exchange earnings to 4 billion US dollars through remittances by migrant workers by the end of this year, Ranawaka added.