COLOMBO: New Delhi has agreed to help Colombo rescue 67 Sri Lankans stranded in Yemen, officials said on Thursday. India’s nod followed a request by the Sri Lankan government for help in the repatriation of Lankans from Yemen.

Officials in Colombo said the evacuation of Sri Lankans would begin immediately after the completion of Indian nationals’ airlift.

Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ajith P. Perera, had last week instructed the Lankan High Commissioner in New Delhi and the embassy in Muscat, Oman, to liaise with India’s ministry of external affairs and the Indian embassies in Muscat and Sana’a to coordinate the evacuation process.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2015

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