Ensure safe passage for students in Belarus – Prime Minister

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday (March 02) instructed Foreign Minister Professor G.L. Peiris and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow to take necessary measures to ensure security of Sri Lankan students pursuing higher education in Belarus in the face of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s Media Division said.

The Prime Minister made this announcement in response to a request made by the parents of nearly 1,500 Sri Lankan students studying at universities and institutes of higher learning in Belarus.

The efforts with regard to Sri Lankan students in Belarus are currently taking place through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow, the nearest Lankan embassy to Belarus.

There are fears of a fuel shortage in the world market as Russia is the world’s second biggest producer of oil after Saudi Arabia. Several other oil producing countries have however indicated that they will step in to fill any vacuum by releasing 60 million barrels to the world market. However, the world burns through a staggering 100 million barrels of oil per day.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, Gamini Lokuge, Udaya Gammanpila, Johnston Fernando, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of State Kanchana Wijesekera, Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath, Chief Adviser to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretaries to Cabinet and State Ministries were present.

(Source: Daily News)