The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal made by the Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Dilan Perera to enter into the Mou with Kuwait.

There are about 260,000 Sri Lankans employed in Kuwait. About 75 percent of the employed are female domestic workers.

This will be similar to the MoUs already entered with the governments of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan on the field of employment migration.

The subject of migration of young women for domestic sector jobs has raised many concerns in the country due to their vulnerability.

An estimated 1.7 Million Sri Lankans work outside the country and their remittances, which amounted to approximately US$ 4.1 Billion in 2010, are the highest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka providing 33% of the foreign exchange and contributing 8% to Sri Lanka's GDP.