COLOMBO, 30 December 2007 — An eminent Colombo-based lawyer has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s new ambassador to the Kingdom. Abdul Ajeed Mohamed Marleen, who has been in active practice for the past 36 years, will succeed A.M.J. Sadiq, who wrapped up his tenure prematurely, within two years, following a recall from the Foreign Ministry.
Marleen was bestowed with the post of President’s Counsel in 2001, an honor conferred on outstanding legal men.
Since 1991, he has been the president of the Moors Islamic Cultural Home (MICH) and secretary-general of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Association, which is based in Cairo.
He has also officiated as the chairman of Board of Management of Zahira College in Colombo, which is the premier Islamic educational institution in the country’s capitol.
Speaking to Arab News, Marleen, who is slated to arrive in the Kingdom in early February, said that he plans to focus initially on the welfare of the island’s migrant workers.
“It is the government’s duty to look after their interests during their overseas stay and help them lead a problem— free life,” Marleen said, pointing out that there are more than 500,000 workers in the Kingdom and a majority of them are domestic workers.
