Sri Lanka President orders migrant worker pension scheme included in 2027 Budget
Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to resolve the outstanding issues involving a proposed contributory pension scheme for Sri Lankan migrant workers and include it in the 2027 Budget proposals.
The President issued the instruction during a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo this morning (July 16) to review projects implemented under the 2026 Budget allocations and discuss proposals for the 2027 Budget relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism.
President Dissanayake said overseas workers remain one of Sri Lanka’s largest sources of foreign exchange earnings. He stressed the need to establish a structured and sustainable pension scheme for migrant workers and called for swift action to introduce it.
The President also instructed officials to transfer funds for tourism development projects directly to the allocations provided to District Secretaries. This would allow tourism proposals to be implemented more efficiently at district level through closer coordination between District Development Committees and Tourism Committees.
He further directed that development programmes proposed by the Road Development Authority for Sigiriya, Galewela and Trincomalee be implemented jointly with the Ministry of Tourism and the Department of Archaeology.
The President said implementing the projects under a single integrated plan, instead of allowing each institution to work separately, would save time and resources.
The meeting also discussed delays in implementing projects due to procurement procedures. The President instructed officials to use the new procurement framework introduced by the Ministry of Finance, which allows procurement activities to begin from the first week of January each year.
It was also agreed to introduce a separate mechanism to speed up specialised procurement requirements, including construction projects carried out by the Ministry of Tourism.
Programmes planned to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, including the upcoming Asian Broadcasters’ Conference, were also discussed.
Attention was also given to developing further initiatives with the Ministry of Digital Affairs to improve the efficiency of consular services through digitalisation.
Officials noted that previous administrations had not prepared a comprehensive report on the lands and other assets under the Ministry of Tourism. The President instructed them to expedite the preparation of the report.
The discussion also highlighted that Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is expected to require a workforce of approximately 800,000 people by 2030.
Plans to expand the training programmes currently conducted through hotel schools were discussed to help meet this future demand.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Chief of Presidential Staff Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Senior Additional Secretaries to the President Roshan Gamage and Kapila Janaka Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr Harshana Suriyapperuma and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Aruni Ranaraja attended the meeting.
Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism were also present.
