A contingency plan to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan expatriates in Qatar has been discussed by the Foreign Ministry, although the current diplomatic stand-off is not expected to escalate further, Sri Lankan Ambassador in Qatar A.S.P. Liyanage told the Sunday Observer.
“Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world. There is no risk of a war situation in the country at the moment and Sri Lankans doing jobs here are safe,” he said.
“President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Athukorale have been kept informed of the situation,” he said.
Six Gulf nations, led by Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar last week claiming the country was supporting terrorists. Maldives was the seventh country to toe their line. Qatar has rejected the allegations and a terror list released by the Saudi-led countries that proposed the diplomatic blockade.
A senior official at the Consular Affairs Division in the Foreign Ministry said diplomatic mediation to settle the issue in the Gulf region has begun, hence they don’t see any reason to be alarmed.
“Certainly there is a backup plan but we don’t expect any imminent problem,” he added.
So far Germany, Kuwait and Turkey have come forth to bridge the rift among Arab states.
Ambassador Liyanage said other than a fear of food scarcity due to the closure of the Saudi border - the only land border it shares with the mainland - people in the Capital Doha go about doing their business as usual.
“Sri Lankans are well respected here, there is no job insecurity and if anyone needs to get back to Sri Lanka, they can do so since SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways are operating flights as usual,” he said adding that the mission will assist anyone in need of help.
Nearly 150,000 Sri Lankan expatriates, mostly professionals - Accountants, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors – are currently employed in Qatar. Over 184,400 Lankans have departed to Doha for jobs between 2014 to July 2016.