Remittance income from Sri Lankans working abroad continued to be strong during the month of May.
It is reported that the amount of remittances sent by Sri Lankan workers abroad was 544.4 million dollars during the month of May. It is more than 479.7 million US dollars received in May of the year.
Sri Lanka expects approximately US$7.0 billion in remittances in 2024.
The amount of remittances dropped to US$ 5,491.5 million in 2021 and to US$ 3,789.5 million in 2022 due to campaigns by some parties not to send money to Sri Lanka due to political reasons.
However, with the assumption of the current Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, several programs were introduced to encourage workers who send money legally. Accordingly, many features such as duty free permits for electric vehicles, concessional bank loans, and welfare of foreign worker families were introduced.