Heavily reliant on worker remittances from West Asia for its economic recovery, Sri Lanka has expressed “grave concern” over the escalating conflict in the region.
Migrant workers sent a record $8 billion in remittances last year, boosting foreign reserves and helping recovery from the country’s 2022 economic crash. A total of 3,10,915 Sri Lankans left for foreign employment in 2025, according to Central Bank data, working mainly in domestic service, caregiving, construction, and agriculture. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia were the largest sources of remittances, along with the United Kingdom, which included funds routed through other countries.
“Sri Lanka expresses its grave concern regarding the recent hostilities in the West Asian region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism said on May 6, 2026. Pointing to a large Sri Lankan expatriate population whose safety is a “matter of paramount concern,” the Ministry called for “maximum restraint” from all parties, without naming any party to the conflict.
Since late February this year, when the United States-Israel combine launched its war on Iran, triggering a series of retaliatory attacks, Sri Lanka’s migrant workers have been living in precarity. Even so, they contributed $815 million in remittances in March 2026, recording a year-on-year growth of 17.5%. “Cumulatively, remittances during the first quarter of the year recorded a notable growth of 26.5% on a year-on-year basis,” the Central Bank said. Despite tensions and grave risks in the West Asian region, workers’ remittances in this period far exceeded earnings from the exports and tourism sectors, two other key foreign exchange earners.
