The Foreign Ministry has so far made payments in compensation totalling Rs. 140 million to next of kin (NOK) of affected families during the year 2009.  Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama made this observation at a ceremony held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations & Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on 07 September 2009 when he handed over compensations among the next of kin of those Sri Lankan nationals who had passed away under tragic circumstances in the Middle East.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Bogollagama stated that the amount of Rs. 45.6 million which was being awarded to 22 families of the NOK on this occasion had been made possible due to the efforts taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sri Lanka Missions abroad. He recalled that the Ministry had already disbursed Rs. 42.2 million and Rs. 52.1 million as compensation since the beginning of this year.

The Foreign Minister also stated that following his election, President Rajapaksa had been keen to ensure that compensations entitled to Sri Lankan nationals should be obtained expeditiously and without any pilfering by any of the connected agencies.  He also stated that the responsibility of ensuring a corruption free distribution of these funds lay with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and noted that the Ministry has been able to regularly disburse compensations to the affected families. 

The Minister also expressed his appreciation for the hard work done by the Department of Public Trustee and the SLBFE in this regard.  

Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein A. Bhaila, L.K. Ruhunage, Additional General Manager, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, Tharanganie Keenawinne Dissanayake, Deputy Public Trustee from the Department of Public Trustee and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry participated at this occasion. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Colombo  

08 September 2009