COLOMBO: Over 200,000 Sri Lankans have left for foreign employment so far this year after registering with Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, a minister said on Monday, reported Xinhua.
Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara told the media that around 311,000 Sri Lankans left for foreign employment in 2022, and he expects a similar number of people will leave Sri Lanka this year as well.
Sri Lankan workers remitted over US$2.8 billion in the first half of 2023, the minister said.
The workers’ remittances have been a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s foreign currency earnings, providing a substantial cushion against the widening trade deficit and enhancing the resilience of the country’s external sector. - Bernama