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| Wednesday, 24 November 2004 |
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President Kumaratunga opens new era in Iran - Sri Lanka ties by Chandani Jayatilleke
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's visit to Iran this week marks a new era in diplomatic, bilateral and social relations between the two countries. With this visit, President Kumaratunga becomes the first Sri Lankan Head of State to visit Iran. Previously, several Sri Lankan Ministers and high powered delegations visited Iran to promote trade and multilateral cooperation between the two countries. However, diplomatic sources said President Kumaratunga's current visit to Iran is significant. "It would be a turning point in the bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Iran" and opined that it would help further strengthen diplomatic ties.
They said that relations between the two countries have improved significantly over the years. The deeper and cordial understanding that exists between Sri Lanka and Iran ever since bilateral relations were established 30 years ago have been steady, stable and progressive, resulting in a tension-free relationship. The bond of genuine friendship and goodwill between the two countries has been growing into a solid relationship covering many important areas. Ceylon tea The people of Iran have a special liking for 'Ceylon tea' and Iran continues to be one of Sri Lanka's major tea buyers. Iran has also included items such as desiccated coconut, natural rubber and spices in the import list from Sri Lanka, according to the Iranian Embassy in Colombo. Having enjoyed complemental economies the two countries have laid the foundation for strong trade, economic and cultural cooperation between them with new areas for mutual collaboration being identified. Bilateral trade has registered a significant growth and Iran continues to be one of the major buyers of Sri Lanka tea and a main supplier of crude oil to Sri Lanka. Especially after the seventh Joint Economic Cooperation Session in Colombo, bilateral economic ties have reached new heights. There are many avenues open for mutual cooperation and collaboration between Iran and Sri Lanka in the spheres of commerce, trade and tourism. About 75% of Iran's tea imports are from Sri Lanka. The market is also open for Sri Lankan businessmen to trade in steel, aluminium, automobiles, car spare parts, agro industrial equipment and carpets. Crude oil President Kumaratunga is expected to sign several bilateral agreements during the tour. And these agreements will be in the agriculture, trade and health sectors. The issue of crude oil will also be taken up for discussion and the Iranian Government is expected to extend their support to Sri Lanka to ease the burden on increasing fuel prices, diplomatic sources said. A major development in the sphere of trade between the two countries was the Double Taxation Relief Agreement which came into force on November 26 in 2001. The agreement paved the way for stimulation of mutual investments and transfer of technology. A direct air link has already been launched, based on the bilateral air link agreement signed in 1992 and several batches of Iranian tourists have already visited Sri Lanka with Iran offering attractive holiday packages. Iranian exhibition Several Iranian solo trade exhibitions have already been held in Colombo which helped open new vistas of opportunities for mutual business cooperation. The exchange of a number of important visits both at Government and private sector levels has taken place over the years. Scores of high ranking authorities from Iran and Sri Lanka have participated in international and regional conferences held in Teheran and Colombo in the past, strengthening ties between the two countries. As far as relations between the countries are concerned, the year 2004 started on a very positive note, with a high powered Iranian economic and commercial delegation led by the Minister of Finance and Economics of Iran visiting Sri Lanka to participate at the seventh session of the Sri Lanka-Iran Joint Economic Commission in Colombo. The delegation comprised high ranking officials from important sectors of the economy in Iran. The useful discussions the delegation had with the relevant authorities here and the far reaching agreements concluded at the Joint Session have opened new areas in trade and investment between the two countries which is a tremendous boost to the existing friendly ties. In recent times, Iran has shown its keenness to further improve business ties with Sri Lanka and a visiting Minister of Iran recently told journalists in Colombo that his Government would consider a scheme to issue 'on arrival' visas for prospective Sri Lankan businessmen. He also said that Iran has opened the gates for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to set up joint ventures in the construction, agriculture and health sectors. At the same time, Iranian investors have shown interest in investing in development projects in Sri Lanka. It has been 25 years, since the Islamic Revolution was launched by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, a historic event that gave the people of Iran a new sense of identity and a new direction, an embassy official said. Iran has not only overcome the devastating effects of the eight-year old war imposed on it but has also rebuilt and modernised important industries as steel and petrochemicals. The country is now in the process of entering a new stage of exporting technical know-how which has seen a market monopolised by the more advanced countries, the official said. "We are pleased and hope that President Kumaratunga's official visit to Iran would bring fruitful results in terms of economic and investment and tourism development," he added. |
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