Former Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara has appealed to Sri Lankans working abroad to send money to Sri Lanka through legal banking channels to help support the country’s economy.
His appeal comes as Sri Lanka faces renewed pressure on foreign currency reserves, with concerns over a growing dollar shortage and the Sri Lankan rupee falling to its lowest levels against the US Dollar since the 2023 economic recovery period.
In a statement, Nanayakkara said overseas Sri Lankans had previously helped the country during the economic crisis by sending foreign currency through official channels. He said those contributions played a role in stabilizing the economy during a period of severe financial hardship.
Nanayakkara said political differences should be set aside as the country faces another difficult economic period. He urged migrant workers not to use informal money transfer systems such as “Undiyal,” despite the higher exchange rates sometimes offered through those channels.
He said using unofficial remittance methods could worsen shortages of essential goods and services, including milk powder, fuel and medicine.
“Political ideology can be debated ideologically. But if the economy collapses, ideology alone cannot solve it,” he said.
Nanayakkara also called on overseas workers to help increase Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves by remitting earnings through the formal banking system. (Newswire)