Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara says the Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry has granted import permits for 111 electric vehicles, under a new programme designed to encourage Sri Lankan migrant workers to remit more foreign exchange to the country through official and legal channels.

This initiative is part of several measures introduced by the Ministry to benefit migrant workers who send foreign exchange to Sri Lanka via authorized remittance transfer banks or agencies, Minister Nanayakkara has said.

Since May of the previous year, the Ministry has been issuing electric vehicle import permits to eligible migrant workers as part of these benefits, Nanayakkara said. The scheme allows the importation of electric cars, motorcycles, and scooters, depending on the amount of foreign exchange sent by the workers.

Nanayakkara said most of the vehicle permit recipients are individuals employed in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates.He added that the first round of permit applications will remain open until the end of September and that only fully electric vehicles, not hybrids, are eligible for importation under this programme.

Minister Nanayakkara also highlighted the substantial increase in remittances from migrant workers in 2023, amounting to 2.3 billion US Dollars, with an average monthly rate of 400 million Dollars. This figure represents a significant rise compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, he said.