Dubai: Sri Lankan expatriates have been urged to continue to make their country proud as its goodwill ambassadors to the UAE as they marked their country’s 70th Independence Day on Sunday.
Sri Lanka gained independence from the British on February 4, 1948. The day is a national holiday in Sri Lanka and is marked with pomp throughout the country.
In Dubai, the community gathered on Sunday night for a diplomatic reception organised by the consulate-general, which is also celebrating its 25th founding anniversary in Dubai.
The ceremony gave guests a glimpse of the Sri Lankan culture, complete with elaborate dances by Chandana Wickramasinge and the dancer’s guild of Sri Lanka, traditional food, and a video of the country’s top scenic spots.
Dr Thani Bin Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, attended the ceremony along with Abdul Rahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwe’e, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Dubai and the members of the diplomatic corps.
Addressing the crowd, Sri Lankan Consul-General Charitha Yattogoda said: “It is my strong desire to see my countrymen projecting and representing our land in this region as goodwill ambassadors of Sri Lanka.”
“As a person who strongly believes in solidarity, which will usher us into a better future, let me invite all my fellow countrymen to join hands as one nation in promoting Sri Lanka’s rich values in this part of the world and to make our motherland proud,” he added.
An estimated 250,000 Sri Lankans live and work in the UAE as quantity surveyors, accountants, engineers, managers, bankers, and others. Around 25 per cent are blue-collar workers who have contributed greatly to the country, Yattogoda said.
“The remittances from Sri Lankan expatriates are still the number one foreign exchange source for the Sri Lankan economy and we respect your contribution made for the economic development of our motherland,” Yattogoda said.
“Let me use this occasion to place on record my sincere appreciation and gratitude, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, to the Sri Lankan community based in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, for the immense support they rendered throughout the year, shoulder to shoulder, in all our endeavours,” he added.
Yattogoda said the UAE and Sri Lanka through the years have been enjoying cordial relations in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and economic cooperation.
The UAE remains Sri Lanka’s largest export market in the Middle East. Bilateral trade between the two countries has gone beyond $1.34 billion (Dh4.92 billion). Sri Lanka exported $275 million worth of goods to the UAE and imported over $1 billion worth of goods from the UAE. A number of UAE investors such as Al Futtaim, etisalat and Galadari, have invested in Sri Lanka.
At the end of the ceremony, Yattogoda invited guests to the ‘Sri Lankan Day 2018’ on February 9, a family-oriented event that is open to public at Zabeel Park in Dubai.
Event
What: ‘Sri Lankan Day 2018’
When: Friday, February 9, 10am to 11.30pm
Where: Mega Bowl, Zabeel Park
What to expect: UAE-Sri Lanka Friendship Walk, Sri Lankan cultural show, food stalls serving authentic Sri Lankan food, free spectacle donations, blood donation camp, mega musical show, and much more.
