Sri Lanka signs agreement with Germany to recruit Sri Lankans as geriatric care nurses

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment G.S. Withanage and Dr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme, Ambassador for the 2017-2018 GFMD Co-Chairmanship of Germany signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on principles of fair recruitment of personnel for training as geriatric nurses in the Federal Republic of Germany on 27 June. The signing ceremony took place at the German Federal Foreign Ministry in Berlin, during Secretary Withange’s visit to Berlin leading the Government of Sri Lanka delegation to the 10th meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) hosted by the Government of Germany. 

Ambassador Schmidt-Bremme, expressing his satisfaction that the agreement could be concluded following a very brief consultation said that it was a sign of enhanced cooperation for the future. Thanking the Government of Germany for providing the opportunity for Sri Lankan health sector professionals to work and live in Germany through this program, Withanage said that it will be a win-win situation for both countries and will be a path to further strengthen the relations between the two countries. 

The agreement envisages training to commence in Sri Lanka from 2018 and the trainees will be provided with a comprehensive German language training (B2 level) and the professional training in the geriatric care on par with the requisite standards in Germany with the assurance of working and integrating in Germany. 

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin and the Permanent Mission in Geneva coordinated with the Foreign Employment Ministry in getting this agreement off the ground from an initial stalemate due to the pressing priorities faced by Germany due to the European migration crisis. Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Berlin Karunatilake Amunugama, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to UN in Geneva Samantha Jaysuriya, the General Manager of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Devseth Fernando, Additional General Manager (International Affairs ) W.M. Wansekera, and the Third Secretary of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin Gamini Wijayarathna joined the event, while senior officials of the Federal Foreign Office joined Sebastian Damm, Policy Officer for Immigration Law and Migration, Katharina Bosch, Senior Policy Advisor for Migration Issues, Global Forum on Migration and Development and Dr. Gerhard Almer, First Counsellor of the South Asia Division.