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The SLPA group, which includes the Consul General, representatives of the professional associations and other distinguished participants
SLPA-UAE Chairman Ajantha Premarathne signing the MoU on Sri Lanka Professionals Association with MCI
Signifying another milestone of Sri Lankan professionals living in the UAE, four main Sri Lankan professional associations of Institution of Incorporated Engineers Sri Lanka (IIESL) – UAE Branch, the Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL) – UAE Chapter, the Sri Lankan Quantity Surveyors – UAE (SLQS-UAE) and the Postgraduate Institute of Management Alumni – UAE (PIMA-UAE) that have been functioning in the UAE representing over 1,500 Sri Lankan professionals, joined together to establish Sri Lankan Professionals Association (SLPA) in the UAE under the patronage of the Consulate General of Sri Lanka to Dubai and Northern Emirates recently at the premises of the Consulate General in the presence of Consul General Charitha Yattogoda. 
SLPA-UAE was subsequently registered under MCI Middle East LLC which is legally mandated to provide Association Management service, at a brief ceremony held in Radission Blu Hotel, Deira on 18 June. This registration provides SLPA-UAE the authority to practice in accordance with the governing rules and regulations in the UAE and thereby formally function as a legally accepted professional association. The SLPA-UAE intends to create a common platform for all the SLPAs based in the UAE to come together under one umbrella and thereby to elevate dedication of its members towards maintaining the highest standards of professional excellence, promotion and safeguarding of the interests of their professions, in addition to promoting the image of the professionals of Sri Lanka. The SLPA also has the mandate to develop professionalism among the members of the member associations of respective disciplines. 
Having incepted under the banner of the SLPA, which unified them under a common body for the first time in the UAE, the association aims at extending their performance to greater heights through collective efforts. In addition, the SLPA intends to make their coalition even broader in future by involving the other similar associations based in the UAE.
As the UAE is home to around 300,000 Sri Lankan nationals consisting of large number of professionals that includes Quantity Surveyors, Bankers, Charted Accountants, Engineers, Hoteliers etc., it is expected that the scope of SLPA in UAE will expand further without limiting only to the professionals belong to those four associations concerned that initially joined to SLPA in times to come.
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka to Dubai and Northern Emirates has played a leading role in bringing the above Professional Associations in the UAE together under a common body. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to UAE and the Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates are the Patrons of the SLPA.
The first Executive Board of the SLPA appointed for 2019-2021 is as follows:
The Executive Committee of the SLPA looks forward to further strengthening SLPA as a flagship organisation and consolidating their coalition in the UAE in future by implementing a number of initiatives and activities.
