Emergency evacuation plans for 150,000 Lankans in Qatar

The Government has begun preparing emergency travel documents for thousands of Sri Lankan workers in Qatar to facilitate their evacuation if the latest Gulf crisis worsens.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador A.S.P. Liyanage told the Sunday Times that while chances of the diplomatic spat escalating into a conflict was highly unlikely, the Government had a responsibility to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan in Qatar.

An estimated 150,000 Sri Lankans live and work in Qatar. Accordingly, the embassy, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo, has started preparing emergency