Foreign Employment Bureau delivers Rs. 7 Bn to Treasury

by Staff Writer 30-11-2023 | 9:43 AM

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has contributed a total of Rs. 7 billion to the National Treasury this year, reported the President's Media Unit.

It added that a formal presentation of a Rs. 4 billion cheque was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe by the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara on Wednesday (29) at the President's Office.

In light of the prevailing economic conditions in the country, this substantial amount has been allocated from the operating surplus received by the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau. The funds are earmarked for crucial activities, including the procurement of essential medicines and the disbursement of government employee salaries, said the PMD in a statement.

A significant portion of the Rs. 7 billion, specifically Rs.3 billion were handed over directly to the President earlier this year.

Concurrently, an additional allocation of Rs.100 million has been designated for the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama for medicine procurement.

"This marks a historic milestone as the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau has, on various occasions, contributed substantial amount of Rs.3382 million to the Treasury. Notably, the current Rs. 7 billion contribution stands as a remarkable milestone, representing the Bureau’s highest annual contribution within a single year to date," said the President's Media Division.

Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, citing a notable achievement of receiving US $ 7.5 billion in remittances over the past 18 months, updated the President on initiatives such as the introduction of a pension system for expatriate workers and the establishment of a dedicated terminal for departing workers at the airport.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe underscored the pivotal role of expatriate workers’ remittances as a primary source of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka.

He commended the Ministry, led by Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, for its proactive program and applauded the efforts in reforming labour laws through the introduction of the new Employment Security Act.