No Travel Ban on Sri Lanka, Confirms U.S. Ambassador

COLOMBO (News 1st); Julie Chung, the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, has clarified that there is no travel ban on Sri Lanka. 

Addressing recent concerns, she emphasized that the U.S. security alert issued last week was specific to the Arugam Bay area due to a particular threat. 

"When we became aware of a specific threat in the Arugam Bay area, we shared these known details with the Sri Lankan authorities, who responded quickly," Chung stated. "We continue to actively coordinate with them on a daily basis, and we value our partnership with Sri Lanka's leadership and security officials, whose commitment to safety and transparency is notable."

Chung also addressed misinformation circulating about the travel advisory.

"Our security alert last week is for Americans to avoid Arugam Bay until further notice, but our overall security advisory for Sri Lanka remains exactly the same at Level 2, which has been so for many years. This is similar to advisories for many other popular destinations, including the Maldives, France, and Italy. All the same at Level 2, Sri Lanka remains at Level 2," she added.
 

News 1st Juwaad Abdeen contributed to this report.