Leader: Iran, Sri Lanka should boost bilateral trade
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday stressed the need to expand
trade ties between Iran and Sri Lanka, saying the two countries have much more capacities for pushing up trade volume.
“Asian countries are required to bolster their cooperation, because such cooperation would strengthen them,” Ayatollah Khamenei told visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Tehran.
The Leader said Iran is ready to cement friendship with Sri Lanka, adding that Tehran and Colombo should follow up and put into force memoranda of understanding they have signed.
Sirisena said Sri Lanka and Iran, in their Sunday talks, decided to multiply
Iran oil on demand
Earlier in the day, Sirisena called for promoting all-out ties with the Islamic Republic and increasing oil import from Iran.
Economic and trade relations between the two countries will increase, Sirisena said at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, IRNA reported.
The Sri Lankan president called for establishing direct flights between Iran and Sri Lanka to facilitate trade exchanges between the two states.
Sirisena referred to the deals signed by the two countries, and said, Sri Lanka considers itself committed to implementing all of these memoranda and calls for establishing direct flights between the two countries to increase interactions between people and businesspeople of both countries.
He also invited private Iranian investors to invest in Sri Lanka, and stated that they have contemplated good facilities to encourage investment in Sri Lanka to increase trade and economic relations with other countries, including Iran.
Sirisena arrived in Tehran on Sunday at the invitation of President Rouhani for an official visit. High-ranking officials of the two countries signed five cooperation documents during the trip.
President Rouhani met his Sri Lankan counterpart in October 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit.