Sri Lankan president terms Iran as gateway to Central Asia

Referring to Iran's strategic position, the Sri Lankan president considered Iran as a gateway to Central Asia and he emphasized increasing economic interactions with Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met and held talks with the president of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe during his stay in Colombo, Mehr news agency reports.

During this meeting, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian referred to the agreement between Tehran and Colombo to hold a joint economic commission and said that the support of Sri Lanka's President has been effective in implementing the agreements made in this commission.

He stated that Iran's economic and industrial sectors, including the Ministry of Energy, are prepared to develop cooperation with Sri Lanka.

Appreciating Sri Lanka's positions regarding the situation of people in Gaza and the West Bank, he added that the main priority is to stop the war and crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and to realize the rights of the Palestinian people.

Iran's Foreign Minister also stressed Iran's efforts to provide the safety of navigation in international waters.

In this meeting, the President of Sri Lanka said for his part that Iran has achieved great developments.

Referring to Iran's strategic position, the Sri Lankan president considered Iran as a gateway to Central Asia and he emphasized increasing economic interactions with Iran. Regarding the Gaza developments, he stated that Sri Lanka is not in favor of changing the demographic composition in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian left Tehran for Colombo on Monday at the official invitation of Al Sabry, the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka for talks on bilateral relations.