• Sagala Ratnayaka says not limited to Tamil diaspora
• To be a central co-ordination point for the world

By Safrah Fazal The “Diaspora Office” first announced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe last week will encompass all diaspora units across the globe and focus mainly on attracting investments and tourism, but discussions on its establishment are still in the preliminary stages. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (21) Senior Advisor to the President on National Security Sagala Ratnayaka said that the diaspora office will act as a central point of co-ordination. “The diaspora office is essentially to co-ordinate with diaspora units and to engage them in matters relating to Sri Lanka, particularly in terms of investments and other similar matters. It will not be limited to investments, but also ensure the promotion of tourism,” Ratnayaka said. While the focus of the said office is widely believed to be on the Tamil diaspora, as the Ministry of Defence de-proscribed six Tamil diaspora organisations at the beginning of August, Ratnayaka denied that it was solely focused on the Tamil diaspora. “We will be working on the details of the diaspora office in the coming weeks. It will however not be limited to any particular race as such,” he stressed. Last week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, while addressing the 2022 awards ceremony of the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka, mentioned that the Government was focused on establishing a Diaspora office in Sri Lanka to obtain the support of the diaspora.