Azmi Thassim

The new complex of the Sri Lankan Embassy, which has been moved to a spacious new building in Sulaimaniyah on Sunday, will have a special desk to welcome Saudi and expatriate tourists who wish to visit the island for business and leisure.

“We shifted to a new building in Sulaimaniyah on Sunday to offer better services to our nationals as well as for others in the Kingdom,” Ambassador Azmi Thassim told Arab News on Tuesday from the new complex.

The mission had been located at Al-Warood Quarter for 15 years. The new facility is located on Ahmed Abdul Gafoor Al-Attar Street, Sulaimaniyah, which is situated in between Thahliya and Thalatheen Streets.

“We will have a reception desk to welcome Saudi tourists who go to the island for business or leisure,” the ambassador told Arab News on Tuesday from the new complex.

The envoy pointed out that the receptionist will advise local and other expatriates visiting the country on the services and facilities available. He said that there is a remarkable increase in the number of Saudi tourists visiting the island.

The envoy said a website will also be launched in a couple of weeks to keep Sri Lankans and others updated on the services offered by the embassy. He said that the proposed website, which is being prepared by a group of volunteers among the Sri Lankan community, will give detailed information and data on matters related to the country’s tourism, culture, trade and other areas of interests.

“There was an urgent need for a more spacious area for the embassy because of the growing Lankan population in the Kingdom,” he said.

Around 550,000 out of the 1.5 million Sri Lankans in the Middle East live in the Kingdom and on average 8,000 workers arrive in Saudi Arabia every month.

Sri Lanka set up its embassy in Jeddah in 1981 with Mohamed Riyal Thassim as its first ambassador, who is the father of the present ambassador, Azmi Thassim.

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