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Overseas Sri Lankan Coordination Secretariat to help expatriates; talks with Diaspora groups
View(s):The Foreign Ministry backed by the Justice Ministry is in the final stages of establishing a new office known as the “Overseas Sri Lankan Coordination Secretariat” to serve Sri Lankan expatriates with the aim of strengthening relations with the expat community.
Work on the new office is now mostly complete and the government will also be inviting the country’s Tamil Diaspora to coordinate with this office, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Times.
The minister said the new office would also assist the expatriate Tamil community on specific issues such as prisoners and land issues. The office will facilitate expatriates to return to the country to deal with their land issues.
The secretariat will also coordinate with the Office of Missing Persons to help in any queries expatriates might have with regard to missing persons.
The minister revealed that the government had already reached out to Tamil Diaspora groups regarding the new office. Accordingly, a meeting has been arranged between the Sri Lankan delegation and representatives of these Diaspora groups on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. During the meeting, the government will brief them further about the new secretariat and ask the groups for their views on what more it can do through the secretariat to address their issues. The Yahapalana government had tried to open such a secretariat in 2015 under the then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera but the attempt failed owing to the situation that prevailed at the time, Minister Rajapakshe said. “However, we are determined to open it this time and the Justice Ministry will support the effort,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry sources said the government was also planning to use the secretariat to make it easier for expatriates to come and invest in Board of Investment (BoI)-approved projects, and to buy land.
Expatriates will also have a special visa counter set up at the Immigration Department to avoid visa processing delays. A special police unit is also to be established to assist expatriates.
The government will also assist any expatriate who wishes to study in a fee paying Sri Lankan university but who does not hold dual citizenship by fast-tracking their dual citizenship applications, the sources added.
A senior official said the extra assistance to help the expatriate community was in line with a model that both India and the Philippines had successfully implemented for their expatriates.
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