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CBK
commends Iran on lifting of tea ban The ban had been imposed after Iran itself entered tea production and imports from Sri Lanka were limited. During the first ever State visit by a Sri Lankan Head of State to Iran after four decades, President Kumaratunga told her Iranian counterpart that the four Memoranda of Understanding and Preferential Trade Agreement which the two countries signed would give added impetus to the expansion, especially in the field of trade. President Kumaratunga has expressed that the already concluded Air Services Agreement would be operational soon leading Iranian flights to Colombo. The two Heads of States also discussed their respective roles in international groupings, particularly the IOC-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation), in which Iran would take over the chair from Sri Lanka in 2005. The two leaders discussed the importance of keeping the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf Regions as regions of peace. President Kumaratunga extended an invitation to her Iranian counterpart to visit Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and Minister of Power and Energy Susil Premajayantha were also present.President Kumaratunga was also received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini who had conveyed his good wishes for success in her efforts to bring peace to Sri Lanka and by Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran in separate meetings. |
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