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 Iran |  Sri Lanka |
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Iran and Sri Lanka have had official diplomatic relations since 1961. [1]
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Iran | Sri Lanka |
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Iran and Sri Lanka have had official diplomatic relations since 1961. [1]
Diplomatic relations between Iran (then known as Pahlavi Iran) and Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) began in 1961 via the Ceylonese embassy in Islamabad, which was the closest Ceylon had to a presence on Iranian soil until the opening of the Tehran embassy office in 1990. Tehran set up its Colombo office in 1975.
After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President of Iran, Sri Lanka was the first country he visited on his inaugural Asian tour. [2] Mahinda Rajapaksa also made ties with Iran a priority after he ascended to office. [3]
Iran has helped fund a number of development projects in Sri Lanka. In 2010 they agreed to post US$450-500 million for the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project, a 90-100 megawatt hydroelectric power plant around the Central Province. [4] Iran has also invested in Sri Lankan Oil refineries [5] and its investments have helped to double Sri Lankan Oil production capacity. [6] Iran has also invested in rural electrification. [3] These projects have made Iran Sri Lanka's largest aid donor. [7] [8]
During the Sri Lankan Civil War the Government of Sri Lanka approached Iran for loans at low interest to afford Sri Lanka purchases of electronic surveillance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles after a particularly daring attack on the Sri Lankan Air Force by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. [9] Iran agreed covertly to issue the loan and also invited selected Sri Lankan officers to train in Iran for the war. [10] Analysts have termed Iran's aggressive courting of Sri Lanka's military capacity as a geostragetic implication of Iran's "Look east" strategy. [11] For Iran's assistance in the Sri Lankan Civil War, Sri Lankan minister Wimal Weerawansa said that: "Iran has never let us down, even when many other countries in the world refused to back us. The county as a whole is very grateful for this brotherly treatment". [12]
The foreign relations of Iran are the economic and diplomatic relationships between the Iranian government and governments of other countries. Geography is a very significant factor in informing Iran's foreign policy. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the newly formed Islamic Republic, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, dramatically reversed the pro-American foreign policy of the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Since then the country's policies have oscillated between the two opposing tendencies of revolutionary ardour to eliminate Western and non-Muslim influences while promoting the Islamic revolution abroad, and pragmatism, which would advance economic development and normalization of relations. Iran's bilateral dealings are accordingly sometimes confused and contradictory.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan politician who is the 9th and current President of Sri Lanka. He also holds several ministerial positions, including the Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, Minister of Technology and Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment.
Foreign relations of Sri Lanka refers to the diplomatic and commercial relations between Sri Lanka and other countries. Sri Lanka has stressed its principle of "friendship towards all, enmity towards none" in its diplomacy.
Don Stephen Senanayake was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Ceylon. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation".
In a 2005 BBC World Service Poll, 30% of Sri Lankans view American influence positively, with 20% expressing a negative view. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 14% of Sri Lankans approve of U.S. leadership, with 37% disapproving and 49% uncertain.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for conducting and managing Sri Lanka's foreign relations through oversight of its missions abroad via the Sri Lanka Overseas Service, as well as drafting and general implementation of the nation's foreign policy.
Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy due to his role in formation of the country's diplomatic service and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.
Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations refer to bilateral relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both countries are located in South Asia. The earliest proper diplomatic and trade contacts between Pakistan and Sri Lanka date back as early as 1948. In 2013, the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that there were strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Japan–Sri Lanka relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Sri Lanka and Japan.
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia has a High Commission in Colombo, likewise, Sri Lanka has a High Commission in Canberra.
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The three services have around 346,700 active personnel; conscription has never been imposed in Sri Lanka.
Denmark – Sri Lanka relations refers to the current and historical relations between Denmark and Sri Lanka. Denmark is represented in Sri Lanka through its embassy in New Delhi, India. Sri Lanka is represented in Denmark through its embassy Oslo, Norway. Bilateral relations are described as warm for a long time. About 13,000 immigrants from Sri Lanka live in Denmark. President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga visited Denmark in March 1995.
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, commonly known as CEYPETCO (CPC), is a Sri Lankan oil and gas company. Established in 1962 and wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka, it is largest oil company in the Sri Lanka. It was formed in 1961 by nationalisation and expropriation of all private oil companies in Sri Lanka at the time of its formation. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development headquartered in Colombo. It is the largest government owned company in the country, with an operational profit of Rs. 33.9 billion for the financial year 2020.
China–Sri Lanka relations are the bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. There is a Chinese embassy located in Colombo and a Sri Lankan embassy situated in Beijing. Historical and cultural ties between the two countries extend back hundreds of years.
Israel–Sri Lanka relations are official relations between Israel and Sri Lanka.
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's foreign policy emphasized the idea of non-alignment however he had strong ties with socialist and communist nations as well as with Arab nations and India. He shifted the foreign policy of Sri Lanka from being pro-western under the previous right wing United National Party governments to non-alignment under his left wing Sri Lanka Freedom Party government. A remarkable accomplishment of his foreign policy was removing British naval and air bases from Sri Lanka.
Iraq–Sri Lanka relations describe diplomatic and other relations between the nations of Iraq and Sri Lanka. The countries were historically close under the Iraqi Ba'athist regime. Iraq was the largest buyer of Sri Lankan tea during the reign of Saddam Hussein. Ties between Sri Lanka and Iraq were disrupted during the Iraq War. However, in 2018, Iraq re-emerged as the largest buyer of Sri Lankan tea. Sri Lanka has an embassy in Baghdad and Iraq has an embassy in Colombo.
Sri Lanka–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Sri Lanka does not have an embassy in Spain, but has a plenipotent ambassador for affairs with Spain in Paris, France, but it has consulate s in Barcelona and Madrid. Spain has an embassy in Colombo
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