Following the direction of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Ministry of Foreign Relations in coordination with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, have facilitated the return of the 33 Sri Lankan students and their family members to Sri Lanka from Wuhan.

A Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft UL 1423 carrying the families departed from Wuhan airport a short while ago (0405 hrs (local time)1 Feb 2020).

Acting Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Beijing K.K. Yoganaadan said the Government of Sri Lanka is thankful to the Chinese Government for expediting the process of clearance for the Sri Lankan aircraft to land in Wuhan, to fly the returning students and their family members.

Over the past five days the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing and the Consulates General in Shanghai and Guangzhou have coordinated the return to Sri Lanka of 627 students, in addition to the 33 students from Wuhan (total 660). The Embassy and the Consulates are in the process of facilitating the return of those among the remaining 204 students, who wish to return to the country.