President Anura Kumara Dissanayake hosted the Council of Arab Ambassadors accredited to Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat on April 8, 2026, expressing concern over the Middle East conflict and reaffirming Sri Lanka’s commitment to regional peace.
The delegation was led by UAE Ambassador Khaled Nasser Sulaiman Al Ameri, who chairs the council, and included envoys from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Palestine, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait and Libya. The Minister of Labour and the Western Province Governor also attended.
During the meeting, the ambassadors briefed the President on challenges facing their countries amid the ongoing conflict and threats to regional stability. Dissanayake said attacks targeting countries that are not directly involved in the conflict were “unacceptable,” according to a Presidential Secretariat readout cited by Newswire.
The President thanked Arab nations for protecting Sri Lankan workers during the conflict period. Sri Lanka has roughly 1.7 million migrant workers in the Gulf, who contribute the country’s single largest remittance flow. Dissanayake also acknowledged Middle Eastern countries’ contributions to Sri Lanka’s energy needs and tourism sector.
Sri Lanka committed to supporting peace efforts within the framework of international law, the readout said.
The meeting came one day after Pakistan brokered a two-week US-Iran ceasefire that reopened the Strait of Hormuz and sharply cut global oil prices. The ceasefire window has eased immediate pressure on Sri Lanka’s fuel supply, which had been rationed since late March. Iran’s ambassador to Colombo separately offered to supply crude oil to Sri Lanka during the crisis, though Colombo has not confirmed any formal arrangement.
