Relationship dossier
Qatar
Sri Lanka
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation, especially on labor, alongside concerns about migrant workers’ conditions
Qatar toward Sri Lanka
+30Qatar has participated in bilateral agreements with Sri Lanka, including agreements on labor and economic and technical cooperation signed during the Emir’s 2015 visit. Qatar’s recruitment of Sri Lankan workers has been a major practical component of the relationship.
Sri Lanka toward Qatar
+30Sri Lanka has cooperated with Qatar on labor and other bilateral matters, including through agreements signed during the Emir’s 2015 visit. Sri Lanka’s government has engaged with Qatar on employment of Sri Lankan workers there.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a practical cooperative foundation, notably bilateral labor arrangements and agreements spanning economic, technical, air-services, and cultural cooperation. The large Sri Lankan workforce in Qatar also makes employment conditions a significant bilateral concern.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Qatar and Sri Lanka have developed practical cooperation, particularly around Sri Lankan workers in Qatar. During the Emir of Qatar’s 2015 visit to Sri Lanka, the governments signed agreements covering areas including economic and technical cooperation, air services, labor, and culture. Labor cooperation has been important to the relationship, while workers’ rights and employment conditions remain relevant concerns.
Areas of tension
- Employment conditions and protection of Sri Lankan migrant workers in Qatar
Key developments
During the Emir of Qatar’s visit to Sri Lanka, the governments signed agreements covering economic and technical cooperation, air services, labor, and culture.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral agreements are unclear.
- The extent of current government cooperation beyond labor and the agreements signed in 2015 is uncertain.
- The scale of unresolved concerns about Sri Lankan workers’ conditions in Qatar is unclear.