The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a national implementation plan for 2026 to 2028 under the United Nations’ Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, aimed at raising foreign remittance inflows while tightening controls on human trafficking.
Cabinet spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said the Global Compact provides guidance for improving outcomes from migration — including generating remittances through skills development and promotion within the migration process, and securing foreign employment opportunities for Sri Lankan workers, EconomyNext reported.
The framework also underpins measures against migration-related irregularities, among them human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants.
A framework that stalled for four years
Sri Lanka adopted the Global Compact in December 2018, with the intention of establishing structured and safe channels for workers going abroad.
An implementation committee was set up in 2021 under the foreign affairs and labour ministries and produced a preliminary roadmap in 2022. Execution then stalled as the country’s economic crisis took hold.
The committee was reorganised in 2025 and, following stakeholder consultations, a refreshed roadmap for 2026 to 2028 was drawn up. It seeks to modernise labour export strategies, improve migrant workers’ skills, and disrupt smuggling and exploitation networks.
Why remittances matter
Foreign employment is one of Sri Lanka’s largest sources of foreign exchange, and rebuilding those inflows has been a consistent policy priority since the economic crisis. The emphasis on skills development reflects a long-standing government aim of shifting Sri Lankan migration toward better-paid work rather than raising departure numbers alone.
The trafficking component follows a separate five-year national action plan against human trafficking, and comes weeks after Sri Lanka marked the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in July.
