Students will benefit most from Sri Lanka agreement: Ambassador

Maldivian students in Sri Lanka will benefit the most from the agreements signed during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe’s recent visit to Maldives, says Ambassador Omar Abdul Razzaq.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee show on Thursday night, the Maldives Ambassador to Sri Lanka said that the Prime Minister’s visit has further developed the enduring ties between both countries.

Ambassador Razzaq said that they are always working to expand areas of cooperation with Sri Lanka under the instruction of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and that the new agreements will ease visa facilitations for Maldivian students in Sri Lankan colleges and universities.

He said that, previously, Maldivians traveling to Sri Lanka receive a 30-day on-arrival visa but that the new agreement will allow travelers to receive a 90-day on-arrival visa, and that students under the age of 18 will be provided with guardian visas for their parents or guardians. Special arrangements can be made with the Sri Lankan government to provide visas for grandparents, he added.

The Ambassador said that most Maldivian students are enrolled in private Sri Lankan colleges and that it is difficult to receive a spot in the 16 state universities, since around 70,000 students apply for the 7,000 available slots, but that they are working on allowing special slots for Maldivian students.