Shifting the Sri Lankan Embassy to the Diplomatic Quarter is one of the goals of the 2020 Vision set out by the mission, said the country’s Ambassador Azmi Thassim here on Saturday.

The envoy was speaking at the launch of the mission’s 2020 Vision chalked out by more than 100 Sri Lankan expatriates in the capital. He explained that a group of professionals was formed into several groups and framed a set of common goals to be undertaken by the mission for the welfare of their countrymen here, as well as to strengthen bilateral relations with the host country.

Shifting to a spacious headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter will be an added advantage for the mission to expand its services, he added.

Sri Lankan professionals from various walks of life, who contributed to the framing of the 2020 Vision of the mission, were present at a meeting on Saturday hosted by the ambassador at a city hotel here.

Other priorities of the proposed vision are to strengthen bilateral relations with the host government and to promote the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries. He said arrangements will be made for the island’s external affairs minister, Mangala Samaraweera, to visit the Kingdom in the near future, depending on the convenience of his Saudi counterpart.

He pointed out that promoting trade and investment between the two countries will be one of the priorities of the mission. “Sri Lanka has a lot of things to offer the Saudi market and the Kingdom also has plenty of opportunities for investment in various development works in the country,” he said, stressing that this sector has to be harnessed for mutual benefits.

“We will also try to send more skilled workers and professionals to the Kingdom,” he said, pointing out that the existing workforce in the Kingdom has earned a good reputation through their hard work, honesty and loyalty.

(Arab News)