There is no travel ban against Sri Lanka for United States (US) citizens. The US only issued a security alert last week was for its citizens to avoid Arugam Bay until further notice and to exercise caution,” US Ambassador Julie Chung said.
Chung said that she wished to correct some misinformation that has been spread among the public about a travel ban for US citizens on Sri Lanka which is totally false and baseless.
She said this to the media after an event which was held at the American Centre in Colombo yesterday.
Speaking further Chung said:
“If the American Embassy becomes aware of a security threat, we must inform our staff, American citizens and the relevant government about such information. We do not follow a double policy in this regard. It is the accepted method we use around the world. Regarding the security threat to the Arugam Bay area, after we became aware about a specific threat, we shared these known details with the Sri Lankan authorities and they responded quickly.
“We are actively working with the Sri Lankan authorities and we exchange ideas with them on a daily basis. We value our partnership and cooperation with Sri Lanka’s leaders and security officials. The commitment to safety and transparency by the Sri Lankan government, its leadership and security officials is well noted and is highly commendable.”
Chung said that the overall travel advisory for Sri Lanka remains exactly the same at Level 2 which has remained so for many years, similar to the travel advisories issued for Italy and France which are also at Level 2.