A special Cabinet sub-committee appointed to assess the potential impact of the escalating conflict in the Middle East on Sri Lanka convened today under the chairmanship of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.
The sub-committee was tasked with examining how prolonged instability in the Middle East could affect Sri Lanka’s economy—particularly in areas such as fuel imports, foreign remittances, exports, and tourism.
Senior officials including Ministers Wasantha Samarasinghe and Samantha Vidyarathna, along with ministry secretaries and the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, participated in the meeting.
Identifying alternative suppliers for petroleum, crude oil, and gas as a precautionary measure, was discussed at the meeting, even though no immediate risk to fuel imports has been reported.
The committee also reviewed Sri Lanka’s current reserves of petroleum products and ongoing procurement arrangements for the coming months.
The panel further agreed to explore backup supply chains for other essential goods imported from the region, in anticipation of possible disruptions to logistics networks.
The sub-committee assessed the potential impact on Sri Lanka’s exports to the Middle East, such as tea and other goods, and called for the immediate identification of alternative markets to minimize trade shocks.
Concerns were also raised about the safety and welfare of Sri Lankan workers in the Middle East. Officials agreed to closely monitor the situation and prepare evacuation plans should the conflict escalate further. (Newswire)