Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on Saturday, Sabry praised Iran for its progress under the pressure of sanctions.
“We want to have good relations with Iran. We are also keen to see more Iranians traveling to Sri Lanka,” the foreign minister added.
Describing his country as the gateway to East Asia, Sabry said, “I invite the Iranian companies to pay attention to Sri Lanka. Two-thirds of growth in the future will happen in Asia. We call on your (Iranian) companies to make investments in our country (Sri Lanka).”
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said they have held talks on a broad range of bilateral and international issues, including economic and trade cooperation between Tehran and Colombo.
“We share views about the existence of joint political will to expand scientific and academic cooperation, as well as the use of new technologies and the capacity of knowledge-based companies,” he added.
Amirabdollahian also noted that Sri Lanka’s role as the new chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) would provide a suitable opportunity for Iran’s cooperation with the other member states.
IORA is an inter-governmental organization that was established in March 1997. It is now a dynamic organization of 23 members and 11 dialogue partners.