President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has invited Sri Lankan Expatriates to contribute their expertise and talent to the development of the nation’s private, public and non-profit sectors.

Presenting the Budget 2025 in Parliament today, President Dissanayake said he sees a chance for a united Sri Lanka, for a clean Sri Lanka, for a prosperous Sri Lanka, to surpass everyone’s expectations. 

“Never has Sri Lanka had a chance like this to catch up with the modern world. To the Sri Lankan Expatriates, those with Sri Lankan roots, whether you were born in Sri Lanka or heard of your motherland from your parents, know that to us, you are all Sri Lankans.

“Your country is proud of your success. We understand why you may have lost faith in our motherland. Know that I am grateful for every effort that any of you take, even from afar, to help our country,” he said. 

Inviting the Sri Lankan Expats to visit Sri Lanka, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said “We invite you, one and all, to come back and see for yourself how much Sri Lanka has changed.”

“We invite you to contribute your expertise, your talent and your perspective to our island nation, whether in the private, public or non-profit sectors. Join us, and work with us to accomplish a level of success that we can only all achieve together,” he added. 

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also noted that Sri Lanka’s migrant workers play an important role in the country’s development, both in terms of foreign exchange remittances and skills they bring back to the homeland, following their work overseas. 

Stating that the government is exploring ways of encouraging and rewarding this important community of Sri Lankans, he said as a first step, they propose to enable a more generous duty-free allowance for Sri Lanka’s migrant workers as they return to the country. 

The President further said the criteria and basis for the allowance will be determined and publicized following a detailed study of options. (Newswire)

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Expats in Denmark are among the happiest with their work lives, according to the latest Expat Insider survey from InterNations, the online global community for people who’ve moved abroad.

The Nordic country ranks No. 1 for where people are most satisfied with their jobs, career opportunities and work-life balance, among other aspects.

That’s based on survey responses from more than 12,500 people living in foreign countries and reflects their feelings on four broad categories covering work topics, including their career prospects, salary and job security, work culture and satisfaction, and work and leisure.

Denmark ranks highest for two groupings: work culture and satisfaction, as well as work and leisure.

Some 84% of expats in Denmark are satisfied with their work-life balance, compared to a global average of 60%; a similar share are happy with their work hours and, on average, work 39.2 hours per week, compared with 42.5 hours for the global average.

Here are the top 10 countries where expats are happiest with their work lives abroad:

• Denmark
• Saudi Arabia
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• United Arab Emirates
• Australia
• Mexico
• Indonesia
• Austria

Ilana Buhl, a CNBC Make It contributor and American teacher who moved to Denmark, says moving from Texas to Copenhagen brought about lots of positive changes to her work life: shorter workweeks, stronger boundaries around off-hours, five weeks of paid vacation, and a better salary to cover a lower cost of living.

Outside of work, she also enjoys robust public transit, public health care, affordable day care, and ample maternity leave paid for by her employer and the government.

Many of these factors contribute to the fact that Denmark consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world, according to the annual World Happiness Report.

Coming in at No. 2 is Saudi Arabia, where a majority, 75%, say moving there has improved their career prospects, versus 56% globally. The majority, 63%, of newcomers relocate to Saudi Arabia for work, where they say they’re satisfied with the state of the local economy.

Meanwhile, just 35% of expats around the world say they moved to a foreign country for job-related reasons.

The biggest downside to working in Saudi Arabia may be the long hours — expats working there report logging 47.8 hours a week for a full-time job.

Rounding out the top three is Belgium, where expats are highly satisfied with their job security, the local job market and their own career opportunities.

Expats in Belgium say they enjoy flexibility in the workplace, especially among the 68% who say they can work remotely, and their shorter-than-average full-time workweek of 40.8 hours.

Panama was recognized as the No. 1 best country for expats overall, according to the InterNations survey. The overall ranking accounts for broader life and financial factors, where foreigners say they’re satisfied with the quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance and an “expat essentials” index, which covers housing, administration, language and digital life. (CNBC)

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On the occasion of Parents’ Day on Sunday, a UAE couple, who became parents for the first time this year, shared a heartwarming tale of hope, resilience and gratitude.

Sri Lankan expats Rushana Rafeek, 26, and Mohamed Mudhassir, 33, have thanked the medical experts at Latifa Hospital in Dubai for saving the life of their first child, born as an extremely premature baby weighing 480g, “lighter than a large mango” in their own words.

Sharing the story of survival of her tiny warrior, Rushana told Gulf News how her premature baby, Ghazia, defied all odds to emerge victorious in her fight for life with excellent care and treatment by the medical team led by Dr. Javed Habibullah, consultant neonatologist.

A months-long emotional rollercoaster began when Rushana was rushed to the hospital on February 23.

“I was told the pregnancy was at risk,” recalled Rushana. Her heart sank when doctors warned that her baby might not survive even if she delivers.

“I was kept in the labour room and observed every few hours. They checked the foetal heart rate which was always normal, indicating that my baby was well.”

Against all odds

But she was still too premature to be considered viable for survival as it was too early for the baby to be developed. The doctors explained that, in the worst-case scenario, the baby might have to be delivered, considering it a miscarriage. “That was where I was heading to.”

A day later, Rushana was told the baby’s birth weight could be very low. “I was told not to keep hopes as babies born below 500g are considered not viable. Mostly, they wouldn’t resuscitate the baby. The only thing they could do is comfort care. I was very emotional as this is my first baby and I didn’t want to give up on the baby. I pleaded with the doctors to please try and save the baby even if it would mean harm to me.”

According to international data, more than half of all babies born at the tender gestational age of 22-23 weeks do not survive.

Despite the medical team’s cautionary advice, Rushana held on to her hope and faith and urged the doctors to do whatever they could to save her baby.

Rushana’s hopes were renewed when Ghazia was born at just 23 weeks of gestation, weighing a mere 480g on February 25.

“She came out too soon on her own. It was a natural birth. She was breathing. She was immediately rushed to the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] and kept in an incubator and connected to a ventilator.”

Anything could happen

Doctors did their best, trying to do their best possible to save the child even as they continued to caution Rushana who was discharged in three days.

“They told me anything could happen anytime. I spent days and nights crying and begging Allah to help save my little angel. At this point, that was my only hope I was hanging on to.”

In the NICU, Ghazia’s tiny body fought a monumental battle for survival. The doctors and nurses provided round-the-clock care and treatment, while Rushana and Mudhassir visited their little warrior almost every day and continued to pray for her.

There were times when Rushana would break down. But, Mudhassir, an accountant, and her family including her mother and siblings, offered mental support to move on.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, but Ghazia’s fighting spirit refused to wane. Against all odds, the tiny premie continued to grow stronger with each passing day.

“Initially, doctors were uncertain if she could be fed on breast milk. Slowly, they allowed me to provide small amounts of milk for feeding her. By June, she started taking a good amount of milk consistently. I used to express the milk and hand it over to the NICU,” said Rushana, who resumed her work as a teaching assistant while her baby remained in the hospital.

Arduous 121 days in hospital

After an arduous 121 days in the hospital, Ghazia was finally discharged. Her survival was remarkable and she has been dubbed a “miracle” and a “fighter.”

“We used to say she was lighter than a large mango. We named her Ghazia which means a warrior or fighter as she fought for her life with the blessings from the Almighty and the support of the doctors and nurses.”

Now, Ghazia is a healthy, normal baby weighing 2.3kg. “She is not on any medication. We take her to the hospital for regular checkups and vaccination,” said Rushana.

On Parents’ Day observed in several countries on the fourth Sunday of July, Rushana and Mudhassir expressed their deepest gratitude to Latifa Hospital and its staff for their exceptional care and support, crediting their dedication and advanced NICU facilities for their baby’s survival. The couple said they were not aware of the NICU facilities at Latifa Hospital and urged parents facing similar problems to put their trust in such facilities. (Gulf News)

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Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara has taken steps to initiate a housing project exclusively for expatriate workers.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Employment, this housing project is to be implemented jointly by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and the Housing Development Authority.

This housing project is going to be implemented as urban condominiums and rural single housing units according to the needs of expatriate workers. 

A discussion regarding this was held today (16) with the participation of the State Minister of Urban and Housing Development, Thenuka Vidanagamage. During the meeting, it was decided to start a survey regarding the housing needs of expatriate workers from next Monday onwards.

The information is expected to be available within two weeks and the survey is scheduled to be conducted through the development officers assigned to all the divisional secretariats, Sri Lankan foreign missions and through the official website of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

The Foreign Employment Ministry further stated that after analyzing the data obtained from the survey conducted targeting expatriate workers and their family members, the types of houses that will be built, the number of houses and the areas where the houses will be built will be identified.

Thereafter, the construction work of the housing project will be implemented on identified lands owned by the Housing Development Authority and the government.

Hilmi Aziz, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, Rajeev Suriyarachchi, Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority and other officers were present at the meeting. (NewsWire)

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