Two further outcomes of Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra’s visit to Ankara have been reported: a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation, and talks on expanding employment for Sri Lankan workers in Türkiye. Both took place on 27 October, the same day the two countries signed a protocol amending their air transport agreement.
Hemachandra, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, is in Türkiye on an official visit running from 26 to 28 October.
The agriculture MoU
The Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation was signed in Ankara on 27 October by Hemachandra and Dr. Ahmet Bağcı, Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Colombo Gazette reported.
The MoU is described as providing a framework for technical collaboration, knowledge sharing, capacity building and the exchange of agricultural expertise, and is expected to enable practical cooperation between institutions in the two countries, contributing to agricultural development, productivity and food security.
The labour talks
Separately, Hemachandra met Prof. Dr. Lütfihak Alpkan, Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security, NewsFirst reported at 10.28 a.m. on Wednesday.
The discussions covered creating additional employment opportunities for Sri Lankan workers, cooperation on skills development and training, and ethical and transparent recruitment practices. A stated focus was the protection of migrant workers’ rights and conditions for Sri Lankans working in Türkiye, along with support mechanisms for overseas workers.
“Our objective is to build a stronger partnership that creates meaningful employment opportunities while ensuring that the rights, welfare and dignity of our people remain at the centre of our efforts,” Hemachandra said.
The emphasis on recruitment practice is the substantive part. Sri Lankan labour migration agreements are routinely undermined at the recruitment stage rather than at the destination, and a bilateral framework that addresses agents and fees reaches a problem that employment quotas alone do not.
What the visit has produced
| Date | Outcome | Signed or met with |
|---|---|---|
| 27 October | Protocol amending the Air Transport Agreement | Enver İskurt, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure |
| 27 October | MoU on Agricultural Cooperation | Dr. Ahmet Bağcı, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry |
| 27 October | Talks on labour migration and worker welfare | Prof. Dr. Lütfihak Alpkan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security |
Three separate Turkish ministries in one day indicates a programmed visit rather than a single-issue mission. Sri Lanka and Türkiye set a bilateral trade target of US$500 million in September, and these agreements sit within that effort.
Not reported
No numbers appear anywhere in either filing. Neither says how many Sri Lankans currently work in Türkiye, how many additional jobs are sought, or in which sectors.
The labour discussion produced no signed instrument on the published record — it is reported as talks, not as an agreement, and neither filing says whether a labour MoU is planned or when.
On agriculture, neither filing gives the MoU’s duration, names the institutions that would implement it, identifies the crops or techniques involved, or says whether it carries funding. Neither says whether it requires ratification.
Neither reports whether Hemachandra met Turkish counterparts on other subjects, or what remains on the final day of the visit.
On sourcing: two verified newsrooms, NewsFirst and Colombo Gazette, each reported one of the two outcomes; neither reported both. They are independent filings on the same visit rather than two accounts of one event, and nothing in either corroborates the other. The photograph published with the NewsFirst report, showing Hemachandra with his counterpart before the seal of Türkiye’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security, independently confirms the ministry at which the labour meeting took place.
