Lanka seeks to cash in on booming job market

A visiting minister from Sri Lanka has said his country was looking to exploit rising opportunities for its skilled workforce in Qatar.

Minister for Foreign Employment, Promotion and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella said Qatar and Sri Lanka stood to gain from improving relations in different sectors.
The minister is in Qatar on a four-day visit as part of a tour of the region, which covers Kuwait and Libya. Qatar is his first stop.

Rambukwella said his department was constituted by President Mahendra Rajapakse to fully utilise opportunities opening up worldwide for the workforce.
“As part of the process, Sri Lanka has identified 23 destinations around the world where our professionals could find employment in the coming years and Qatar, because of its enormous development in various sectors, in particular in construction, is ranked amongst the top in the list,â€‌ said Rambukwella.

However, we strongly feel that the job of our ministry doesn’t end with sending people for employment abroad. “The country has a responsibility to protect them as well.â€‌

The minister said more than 1.5mn Sri Lankans are working abroad and Qatar has about 80,000 of them.

Read more,
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?