More Ceylon Tea to Iran

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

Iran has decided to purchase more tea stocks from Sri Lanka.

This follows a discussion held between Plantation Industries Minister D. M. Jayaratne and Iran's Ambassador to Sri Lanka Rahim Gorgei at the Plantations Ministry recently."Iran annually purchases nearly 30 million kilos of tea from Sri Lanka. The Iranian Government has pledged to increase this to 50 million kilos per year," a Plantations Ministry spokesman told the Sunday Observer.

According to the spokesman, Sri Lanka's leading importer of tea is Russia. Among the leading tea importers, Iran records the fourth place. Sri Lankan tea is also exported to European countries.The Iranian Ambassador in his discussion with Minister Jayaratne said the Iranian Government has key programs to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. The Iranian Government is also willing to extend its support to develop Sri Lanka's tourism sector.

The discussions were also centred on creating a conducive environment to deal with world economic trends by further expanding the long-standing relations between Sri Lanka and Iran, he said.The Ambassador commenting on the current political situation in Sri Lanka said the island is moving towards a favourable political culture. Therefore, the Ambassador stressed the importance of creating a strong foundation to further expand economic ties between the two countries.

Minister Jayaratne told the Ambassador that President Mahinda Rajapaksa always appreciates the unstinted support extended by the Iranian Government towards development activities in Sri Lanka. Under the leadership of President Rajapaksa, the new UPFA Government would take measures to turn Sri Lanka into the "Wonder of Asia", the Minister said.