Israel and Sri Lanka ink direct air service agreement

Speaking at a press briefing themed “Collective Path to a Stable Country” at the President’s Media Centre today (15), Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva announced that an air service agreement between the governments of Israel and Sri Lanka was signed earlier in the day. The agreement makes way for direct air service between Tel Aviv  and Colombo.

The minister said that Israel has provided employment opportunities for 10,000 Sri Lankans but departure have been delayed as their air tickets had to be routed via India or the middle east. He reiterated that the departure of the expatriate workers will be hastened with the introduction of direct flights to Tel Aviv from Colombo. He also said that the Israeli Minister of Transport who was in Sri lanka to sign the agreement on behalf of the Government of Israel had assured him that there will be a significant increase of Israeli tourists visiting Sri Lanka in the future