Hadi Talebian Moqaddam noted that a deal on bartering Iran’s oil money with Sri Lanka’s tea brought about a preliminary ground for the resumption of the trade exchanges between the two countries.
Cruel US sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic created serious problems in the way of the trade ties between the two countries, he said, adding that various mechanisms were followed up to collect the outstanding claims resulting from selling Iran’s crude oil to Sri Lanka and finally, the bartering deal was put on the agenda of the two countries.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Talebian Moqaddam referred to the “Uma Oya” multipurpose project in Sri Lanka and said that Iran played an important role in launching it.
In this project, transfer of technology, technical know-how, engineering, construction, installing and commissioning operations, were done by expert Iranian engineers, he continued.
The official pointed to a recent visit by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture and his accompanying delegation to the 6th Export Potential Exhibition of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran Expo 2024) and said reviving the Iran-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Cooperation Commission, organizing joint exhibitions, exchanging trade and economic delegations, training merchants and industrialists, and exporting the technical and engineering services were among the most important topics emphasized by the two sides during the visit.
In addition, taking advantage of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) from Chabahar to Central Asia was also discussed by the two sides, he added.
Taalebian Moqaddam placed special emphasis on the necessity of exporting agricultural equipment and machinery to Sri Lanka and noted that Iran has good capacity in manufacturing combine harvesters, tractors, chemical fertilizers, smart-building of the industrial greenhouses, and also breeding seeds and Sri Lanka wants Iran to transfer the technical know-how and experience to this country.
During his visit to Iran, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera held talks with Iran’s public and private sector officials including Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Ali Nikbakht and Industry Minister Abbas Aliabadi.