S. Arabia has recruited 63,000 Lankan workers last year

Approximately 63,000 Sri Lankans found employment in Saudi Arabia in 2023, and their remittances account for about 15 to 20 percent of total remittances sent by Sri Lankan workers, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, P.M. Amza said.

 He said Sri Lankan workers remitted over 5.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.About 300,000 Sri Lankans went abroad for work in 2023, and Saudi Arabia provided the most job opportunities to Sri Lankan expatriates.

 Saudi Arabia has also attracted about 12,000 skilled Sri Lankan professionals to its megaprojects, such as NEOM under Vision 2030, he said.These projects and the new employment scheme under the Skills Verification Program (SVP) were the main reasons why Saudi Arabia is increasingly attractive to Sri Lankans, Amza said.

 The SVP agreement was signed in March, and with this, Saudi Arabia recognizes accreditations issued by Sri Lanka’s Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC).

 Workers’ remittances have been a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s foreign currency earnings, providing a substantial cushion against the trade deficit and thereby enhancing the resilience of the country’s external sector, according to the CBSL.