‘Contact Sri Lanka’- Online Portal for Overseas Sri Lankans

Sharing the following announcement that might be useful to Sri Lankan Expats and Students in US:

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations is pleased to inform the Sri Lankan expatriate community in the tri-State area of New York that ‘Contact Sri Lanka,’ an online portal jointly created by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) for the benefit of Overseas Sri Lankans was launched today (26 March 2020) at the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

The web link is hosted on the Ministry web page www.mfa.gov.lk and also can be accessed at www.contactsrilanka.mfa.gov.lk.

The establishment of the portal, is pursuant to the call made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for coordinated efforts by all Government stakeholders to fight the COVID-19 outbreak and to harness digital technology to prompt faster and more efficient service delivery.

All Sri Lankans living abroad are invited to register voluntarily on the platform’s basic functionalities allowing the Government of Sri Lanka to reach out and provide assistance during emergencies such as the COVID19 outbreak. The data provided through this portal is protected to ensure the privacy of Overseas Sri Lankans and will not be shared  without the consent of the users.

This platform will allow the Ministry to access real time data for quick action. The open access platform would also facilitate Overseas Sri Lankans to interact between government stakeholders, promoting greater access to the Government services through a single centralized point at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. This Portal will also connect Overseas Sri Lankans with the network of Sri Lanka Missions abroad.

In the long term, the Portal will be expanded and is expected to serve as an official source of information and facilitate Overseas Sri Lankans in obtaining  a wider range of digital services offered by the Government.

For easy facilitation, the portal also includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which will serve as a guideline for generic queries. This user friendly platform can be easily navigated via the internet, on any browser or interface and can be accessed by all  registered users to direct  a query or request assistance, even from a mobile phone.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations, is hopeful that this integrated platform will elevate its existing service delivery for Overseas Sri Lankans to a higher level, particularly allowing rapid response in times of emergencies. All Sri Lankans living abroad are invited to benefit from this portal.

To ensure maximum reach, the Permanent Mission would appreciate if you could kindly share this email  with members of the Sri Lankan community in the New York tri-state area.

Thank you!

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations

No. 820, 2nd Avenue,

2nd Floor,

New York 10017

Tel : (212)986-7040, (212)986-7041,(212)986-7042

Fax : (212)986-1838

E-mail:  prun.newyork@mfa.gov.lk   /  mail@slmission.com

Web: https://www.un.int/srilanka