The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia held its first ever Mobile Consular Service at the auditorium of the Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia for the convenience of the expatriate Sri Lankan community living and working in Hawassa on 29 September , 2019. The Embassy was officially established in February, 2017 in Addis Ababa, and Hawassa is 300 kms away from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Approximately, 350 Sri Lankans attended the mobile consular service and the activities of the day included processing of applications for new passports, attestation of documents, police clearance certificates, issues pertaining to lost passports, assistance with regard to employment in Ethiopia, compensation and repatriation related issues of migrant workers and certification of application forms to open NRFC accounts in Sri Lanka.
The mobile service also featured the activities carried out by the Embassy concerning the economic and public diplomacy programmes initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. The participants were also educated on the prevailing rules, regulations and customs in Ethiopia.
Addressing the gathering, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to African Union Commisson, Sumith Dassanayake acknowledged the valuable contribution made by the Sri Lankan expatriate community working in Ethiopia for economic prosperity of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He highlighted the importance of Sri Lankans maintaining good discipline in Ethiopia as a community and urged them to obey rules, regulations, and customs of the host country.
Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake also appealed to the participants to find more employment opportunities in Ethiopia and Africa for Sri Lankan nationals using their contacts.
The Ambassador also had a discussion with approximately 40 Sri Lankan Executives working at various companies at the Hawassa Industrial Park on 28th evening and the discussion centered on safety, security and employment related issues of the Sri Lankan nationals living in Ethiopia. Attaché of the Embassy, R. Ratheesparan also associated with the Ambassador at the discussion.
