Importing oil from Azerbaijan :

President discusses possibility

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a conversation with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Monday at Temple Trees, discussed the possibility of importing crude oil from Azerbaijan.

Explaining the difficulties small, developing

nations are facing due to the sanctions on Iran, the President said turning to other sources would help reduce the burden Sri Lanka is feeling. More than 90 percent of Sri Lankan oil imports come from Iran.

Mammadyarov spoke favourably of the possibility and said his country would be open to such negotiations. President Rajapaksa also encouraged Azerbaijan to consider investing in Sri Lanka and urged members of the country's private sector to visit Sri Lanka to assess the possibilities for themselves. "This is the best time to come and invest in Sri Lanka," President Rajapaksa said.

Mammadyarov spoke of Sri Lanka's economic development since the end of the war and said his country has great respect for the President for ending the armed conflict, which he described as a "really great achievement."

The Foreign Minister further stated that Azerbaijan, a part of the former Soviet Union which is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is ready to support Sri Lanka internationally. "We stand on the same line on international issues," Mammadyarov told President Rajapaksa. Azerbaijan non-resident ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ibrahim Hajiyev, External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Acting Secretary of the External Affairs Ministry Kshenuka Senewiratne were present at the meeting.