Iran firms ready to provide technical services to Sri Lanka

President Rouhani described relations between Iran and Sri Lanka developing in all fields, stressing that the two countries have reached good agreements in the economic fields of mutual interest to both, and said, 'Relations between the two great Iranian and Sri Lankan nations go back to centuries ago.'

'Iran and Sri Lanka have had close political relations with each other for tens of years,' he continued, adding, 'In today's meetings, we discussed various issues such as selling oil, petrochemicals, construction materials and technical-engineering services.'

'I hope that in the 12th Joint Economic Commission of the two countries, which is going to be held in Tehran soon, all issues in economic, trade and technical-engineering services will be followed up,' President Rouhani added. 

President Rouhani also said, 'Considering ample tourist attractions of Iran and Sri Lanka, issues of tourism and direct flights between Tehran and Colombo were also discussed to facilitate travel between the two countries'.

'Fortunately, Iran and Sri Lanka have close views on regional and international issues, and I hope that the constructive interactions of the two countries in international organizations, including in the Non-Aligned Movement and Asian conventions will continue as before.'

'We are very pleased that the Islamic Republic of Iran has fully complied with any agreement that is has signed, and at the same time, we are very sorry that the United States has violated the nuclear deal as one of the parties to a very important nuclear agreement approved by the United Nations'.

President Rouhani added, 'If the other five countries are in agreement with Iran and live up to their commitments and ensure that the interests of Iran will continue to be met, this agreement will remain, despite the will of the United States and the Zionist Regime'.

The president emphasized the fight against terrorism, and said, 'We are glad that yesterday we saw a free election in Iraq, and we announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran's assistance to the people and the governments of Syria and Iraq to fight terrorism will continue.'

'We condemn the crimes and acts of aggression of the Zionist Regime against the people of the region, especially the Palestinian people, which dates back to 70 years ago, and we believe that all countries of the world should support the oppressed people of Palestine.' 

The Sri Lankan president referred to diplomatic relations between Iran and Sri Lanka that has started since 1961, and said, 'I am happy to announce that we have displayed our resolve to deepen economic and commercial relations between the two countries.'

Sirisena referred to the pacts between the two countries, and said, 'Sri Lanka considers itself committed to implement all of these memoranda and calls for establishment of direct flights between the two countries to increase interactions between people and businesspeople of both countries.'

He also invited Iranian private sector investors to invest in Sri Lanka, and stated they have considered good facilities to encourage investors to invest in Sri Lanka to increase their trade and economic relations with other countries, including Iran.

source : irna