Ranil urges Lankan expats to return to the country

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday urged Sri Lankan expatriates, particularly techocrats, to return and work here, reversing the brain drain.
He made this statement at the launch of the first phase of the ‘Techno City’ in Homagama. “Having travelled around the world we see a lot of Sri Lankan expats in foreign countries who have achieved great heights in different industry sectors. At a meeting with some of the experts who visited Sri Lanka, I requested them to bring all their friends back to Sri Lanka,” he said.
The PM observed that unlike in other sectors, many who take up the Biotechnology field are females while males study Physics and Chemistry. “There is also a shortage of Biology teachers in the country.” Mr. Wickremesinghe added that the government will allocate some Rs. 1 billion for Sri Lankan start-ups. “Out of this fund we will allocate Rs. 2.5 million for Small and Medium Enterprise projects.” (RM)