Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry awarded letters of appointment to a group of Sri Lankan trained nurses who are scheduled to begin their employment at hospitals in the United Kingdom at a ceremony held on 25 August, 2022 at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute. This is the first batch of trained nurses under the programme implemented by the International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), Welisara, Sri Lanka, with the facilitation of the Sri Lanka High Commission in London.

While congratulating the awardees, Minister Sabry said that their journey towards an outstanding career in one of the most developed health systems has just begun and invited them to be representatives of our country in building the image of caring Sri Lankan professionals.  He said “Your successful careers will assure more opportunities to Sri Lanka in the future and I am confident that with your expertise and training, you will continue to enhance our reputation in the UK”.

The Minister also thanked the IIHS and its counterpart agencies in the UK for their visionary engagements in the field of healthcare education and training, noting that this will result in obtaining foreign employment for Sri Lankan youth at a time when the country has been exploring all avenues to increase foreign currency remittances.

The Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, also attended this event and encouraged the awardees and other stakeholders associated with this programme.

The founder of IIHS Dr. Nihal de Silva, Co-founder of IIHS Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe and officials attended this event which was organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the UK.