(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Iran and Sari Lanka have signed an agreement on working out ways to settle the island nation’s oil debt to Iran.
The two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to settle $ 251 million worth of credit outstanding with Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) with supply of tea of equivalent value.
Chairman of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Ali-Reza Peimanpaak and Minister of Trade of Sari Lanka Bandula Gunawardena signed the agreement Wednesday in a meeting, Iran’s Embassy in Colombo has reported.
Peimanpaak, who is also a deputy for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, arrived in Colombo early on Monday as his first trade destination to East Asia, the official IRNA said.
Based on mutual agreement, Sri Lanka will monthly export tea to Iran to repay parts of its oil debt to the country, Peimanpaak underlined.
The issue of Sri Lanka’s oil debts to Iran remained unsolved for years until the visit.
During his stay in Sri Lanka, Peimanpaak held talks with several officials there and reviewed ways to develop economy and make use of the existing opportunities.
