Minister Athukorala, the present Chairperson was addressing the fifth Ministerial Consultation of the Colombo Process (CP) 2016 held yesterday (25th Aug.) at the Galle Face Hotel Colombo.

The fifth Consultation was held under the theme ‘Migration for Prosperity: Adding Value by Working Together’ and was joined by representatives from 11 members states including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippine, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The new member state Cambodia also joined.

According to the Minister, this wider and deeper inter-state co-operation is key to a better functioning International labor Migration Process.”This will provide us with positive results through a voluntary and co-operative effort based on shared recognition of the benefits.”

She said that the CP member states had to seek innovative ways for the welfare of their citizens, and therefore, it was important for them to play a active role to develop coherent, multi-dimensional, and strategic approach for migration management.

Minister Athukorala also added that since assuming the Chair-in-Office in 2013, Sri Lanka has prepared a road map that sought to strengthen engagement between both sending and receiving countries under five thematic areas of focus.

The official launching of ‘Colombo Process’ website also took place.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) was the main hosting organization for the Colombo Process, which is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Employment, Sri Lanka