The first trade talks to be held with Sri Lanka by a post-sanctions Iranian administration, the tightly scheduled one-day Colombo sessions deliberated on a multitude but critical gamut of issues that spanned from trade, energy to mining, culture and health.

“The five committees completed their work based on cooperation efforts of JCEC. The presence of the private sector in the formulation of articles is very effective” declared the Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian on 25 February in Colombo.

Chitchian was delivering his closing remarks at the conclusion of the 11th Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) session at Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo.

Joining the Department of Commerce organized 11th JCEC’s closing session were Iranian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mohammed Zaeri Amirani, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Ministry of Industry and Commerce Secretary TMKB Thennakoon and DG Commerce Sonali Wijeratne, among others. The 24 February JCEC’s minutes were signed on Thursday morning at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and exchanged by Ministers Chitchian and Bathiudeen.

According to the Department of Commerce, total trade between the two countries surpassed $1 billion in 2008 for the first time, then decreased to $162 million in 2015 due to unconditional decrease of imports from Iran specially on importation of petroleum oil. The major Sri Lankan product in the exports of Iran is tea, accounting for 83 percent of the total exports in 2015.

(IRNA)