ANKARA - Turkish Acting Parliament Speaker Ali Dincer said on Tuesday that Turkey was the second country in the world which received the highest number of emigrants after the United States.
Dincer received a Sri Lankan parliamentary delegation in the parliament the same day.
John Amaratunga, a member of the Sri Lankan delegation representing the Sri Lankan parliamentary committee on fight against natural disasters, said that his country was heavily damaged due to the tsunami that took place on December 26th, 2004 killing 30,000 people, injuring more than 100,000 others and leaving many others homeless.
Amaratunga said that Turkey was one of the countries which helped Sri Lanka the most.
Ali Dincer said in his part that they would also discuss migration problems with the Sri Lankan delegation.
''Turkey is the second country that receives the highest number of emigrants after the United States since the beginning of the 20th century. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey received emigrants from many regions like North Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East,'' he said stressing that Turkey would continue to help Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan delegation later visited parliamentary commissions of housing, transportation, tourism, health, family and labor.