President vows immediate solutions to passport queues

Independent presidential candidate and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to address the ongoing delays in obtaining passports. He is also committed to solving the issue by enhancing digital infrastructure.

At the “Ask Me Anything” special program organized for the professionals’ forum, Wickremesinghe emphasized, “The program to digitize passports in this country will not be abandoned.”

Furthermore, he reassured the public that the digitalization process is a priority and will continue under his leadership.

Addressing a question about Sri Lankans seeking foreign employment, Wickremesinghe highlighted the importance of modernizing the labor sector.

“Digitalization should be initiated in the labor sector. We are going to implement it across every sector,” he said.

The Head of the State also discussed plans to increase opportunities for young Sri Lankans seeking employment abroad: “In my view, we should encourage our youth to explore opportunities overseas and increase the number of groups going to foreign countries. I am already in talks with East Asian nations to expand such opportunities,” he explained.

He further outlined plans for a training initiative to equip young people with vocational skills for the global market.

“Under our program, we will provide financial support to 50,000 young people to pursue vocational training at foreign employment, either at a government or private training institute. We want to equip them with the skills and opportunities to succeed internationally,” Wickremesinghe added.