Iran, Sri Lanka to broaden economic ties soon

Member of Iran-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group Mohammad Firouzi underlined that Tehran and Colombo are determined to bolster and reinvigorate their mutual economic cooperation in the near future. Firouzi pointed to a recent visit of an Iranian delegation to Sri Lanka, and said, “The Iranian and Sri Lankan officials exchanged views on the construction of a number of joint development projects, including building two dams with the capacity of generating 120 megawatts of electricity, by Iranian experts as well as construction of a water supply project in the Southern parts of the country.” Earlier today, senior Iranian parliamentary officials underlined the legislature's full support for the expansion of Tehran's relations and cooperation with Colombo. “The parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission supports the trend of enhancing mutual cooperation with Sri Lanka in different fields,” Chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said in a meeting with Sri Lankan Ambassador to Iran Mohammad Feisal Razin in Tehran. He underlined that making use of the existing capacities and capabilities of the two countries in different areas paves the way for the further expansion of mutual cooperation. The Sri Lankan envoy, for his part, pointed to the parliaments’ role in the expansion of the relations, and said, “Iran has a special place in Sri Lanka’s foreign diplomacy.” During the meeting, Feisal Razin also briefed Boroujerdi on the latest political developments of his country. Earlier this year, Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiyutheen, in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi in Tehran on Wednesday, called for the partnership of Iranian investors in the development projects of his country. Bathiyutheen described Iran-Sri Lanka relations as friendly and strong, and said his country is willing to benefit from Iran’s capacities, technical and engineering experiences as well as the partnership of investors from different private and governmental sectors in Sri Lanka’s development and infrastructural projects. Sarmadi, for his part, voiced his satisfaction in the friendly and age-old diplomatic relations between Tehran and Colombo, and called for the reinvigoration of mutual cooperation between Iran and Sri Lanka in regional and international bodies, including the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), in line with the two countries’ mutual interests. The Iranian deputy foreign minister pointed to Iran’s considerable advances in industrial, engineering and agricultural fields, and said, “Holding regular meetings of the two countries' joint economic cooperation commission provides a good opportunity for depicting the perspective of the expansion of all-out ties between the two countries and preparing a suitable roadmap for the implementation of the bilateral agreements for the further development of these ties.” Iran and Sri Lanka have had official diplomatic relations since 1961. Sri Lanka is an island country in the Northern Indian Ocean off the Southern coast of the Indian subcontinent.