Rajapaksa returns to Sri Lanka from Dubai

Colombo: Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted from power last year over his government’s mishandling of the cash-strapped country’s economy, has returned here from Dubai, his first foreign trip since returning to Sri Lanka four months ago.

Rajapaksa and wife Ioma arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport here from Dubai on Thursday, the Daily Mirror Lanka newspaper reported, quoting the airport duty manager and spokesperson of the airport immigration department.

They arrived on an Emirates flight from Dubai, the report said.

During his visit to Dubai, Rajapaksa visited the exotic animal farm called “Fame Park,” according to news portal newsfirst.lk.

Rajapaksa, 73, fled Sri Lanka to the Maldives on a Sri Lankan Airforce plane in July, as the country plunged into its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948.

He then proceeded to Singapore, from where he submitted his resignation on July 14 last year. Weeks later, he flew to Thailand, seeking temporary shelter. Thailand said Rajapaksa can stay in the country for 90 days because he is still a diplomatic passport holder.

However, he was not allowed to engage in political activities in

Thailand.