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rnLabour Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe kicked off the crisis level talks on Thursday by meeting top UNDP officials.rn
rnHe is also due to meet Saudi Arabian and Kuwait Ambassadors to look at ways to repatriate around 500,000 Lankans working in these countries.rn
rnldblquote Our discussions will mainly centre around the safety of our workers and how to repatriated them in the event of a war, dblquote Samarasinghe told Lanka Business Online.rn
rnAround 900,000 Sri Lankans work in the Middle East remitting around Rs. 62.8 bn annually. Nearly 1,000 Sri Lankans work illegally in Iraq, though only ten are officially employed there.
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rnldblquote Our immediate concern is how to evacuate up to 170,000 Sri Lankans employed in Kuwait if war breaks out in neighbouring Iraq, dblquote Samarasinghe said.rn
rnWhen Iraq invaded Kuwait in later 1990, Sri Lank