Tight security during Iranian President’s visit to Colombo
By Easwaran Rutnam
Tight security will be in place during Iranian President Dr. Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Colombo this week.
The Foreign Ministry said that Dr. Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to make an official bilateral visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to jointly declare open the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project on 24 April 2024.
The Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project, funded by Sri Lanka and Iran, is designed to generate and add 120 Megawatt electricity to Sri Lanka’s national grid and provide irrigation to approximately 25,000 acres of paddy lands in the south eastern part of Sri Lanka.
The visit comes as tensions continue between Iran and Israel with Israel saying it will respond to Iran’s recent drone and missile attack as the threat of open warfare between the countries looms.
Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to an attack launched by Israel on an Iranian embassy in Syria.
Back in August 2023, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry visited Iran and met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Tehran. During a joint press conference, the top Iranian diplomat called the visit “a turning point in Iran-Sri Lanka ties”. (Colombo Gazette)
