PM declares open Regional Consular Office in Kurunegala

Saturday, 31 July 2021 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open a Regional Consular Office of the Foreign Ministry in Kurunegala virtually on 27 July. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Highways and Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando, Provincial Governor for North-Western Province Raja Kollure, State Minister for Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya, and several others joined the opening ceremony.

This Regional Consular Office in Kurunegala will cater to the public in the North Western Province and neighbouring regions providing a range of consular services such as attestation of birth, marriage and death certificates as well as educational certificates for overseas use; authentication of export documents and related certificates; extending assistance to family members of Sri Lankans stranded abroad; processing of compensation claims and other forms of redress to affected migrant workers, and repatriation of human remains of deceased Sri Lankans from abroad.

The Foreign Ministry, under the direction of Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, has taken an initiative to open Regional Consular Offices islandwide since January 2020 with the objective of giving impetus to the National Policy Framework of the Government ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ aimed at improving the productivity and delivery of consular services offered to the public.

This is the latest Regional Consular Office opened by the Ministry in order to provide consular services through a network of regional offices across the island, enabling the public to receive such services without travelling to Colombo, especially during this pandemic period.

The other Regional Consular Offices are located in Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and Trincomalee.

The contact details of the Regional Consular Office in Kurunegala are: 3rd Floor, Department of Probation and Child Care Services, No. 2, Dambulla Road, Kurunegala. Tel: 037-2225931, Fax: 037-2225941, e-mail: [email protected].