Iran Tracker

Reaction to June 2009 Iranian Presidential Election:

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Percy Rajapaksa, in an August 9, 2009 telephone call, congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election, adding that "Iran and Sri Lanka enjoy ample opportunities and capacities for promoting the level of their ties and relations." According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the Sri Lankan leader “voiced pleasure in Ahmadinejad’s crushing victory.”[1]

Nuclear:

Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapkse publicly supported Iran’s right to use nuclear energy in a meeting with Iranian foreign minister Manoucher Mottaki in 2007.[2]  In April 2008, President Rajapkse and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged those world powers that possess nuclear weapons to disarm.[3] In August 2008, Mottaki claimed that Iran was willing to share uranium enrichment technology with Sri Lanka to help the country develop a peaceful nuclear energy program. [4]

Economic Relationship:

In April 2008, Iran began work in several infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka, all part of a $1.5 billion loan to the South Asian island. These projects included doubling the oil refinery capacity of Sri Lanka’s Sapugaskanda refinery as well as creating a 100-megawatt hydropower project and irrigation plan in Uma Oya.[5] In addition, Iran agreed to provide low-interest credit to Sri Lanka that will help the island nation purchase Pakistani and Chinese military equipment.[6] In June 2009, Sri Lanka signed a $106 million agreement with an Iranian firm to provide electricity to roughly 1,000 villages in Sri Lanka.[7]

[Click here for more information on Iran’s business activity in Sri Lanka.]

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Sri Lanka and Iran have been developing friendly bilateral relations in recent years. Beyond joint statements in support of global nuclear non-proliferation, the two countries have also recently agreed on a number of bilateral economic aid and development agreements. According to Foreign Minister Mottaki on Iran’s relations with Sri Lanka, "ours is a friendship based on mutual trust and understanding…Iran is sincerely committed to the development of Sri Lanka, whom we consider to be a true friend."[8] Ahmadinejad said in a conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 2008, that "we are seeking justice and fair play in the world. Sri Lanka and Iran have agreed to cooperate in all spheres for the mutual benefit of each other." During the conference, the two countries signed six agreements included memorandum of understanding on Iranian development aid for Sri Lanka, the Uma Oya irrigation project, oil refinery development in Sri Lanka, and sports cooperation between the two countries.[9] During a May 2009 meeting between Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker WJM Lokubandara, Larijani called for strengthening of bilateral ties between the two nations.[10] In May 2009, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki telephoned Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to congratulate Sri Lanka on defeating the LTTE insurgency; Mottaki stated that Iran has always condemned terrorism and supports the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.[11] In May 2009, Head of Iranian Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Mehdi Mostafavi highlighted the importance of improving cultural relations between Sri Lanka and Iran.[12]

In November 2009, the Head of the Iran-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group Anoushirvan Mehseni met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka during an Iranian parliament delegation visit to Sri Lanka.  The delegations discussed increasing Iranian-Sri Lankan bilateral relations.[13]