TEHRAN - Chairman of the Iran-Sri Lanka Joint Trade Committee has said that plans are underway for the 10-time increase of the Islamic Republic’s trade with Sri Lanka, the portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) reported.

“Following a detailed plan, a 10-fold expansion of trade with Sri Lanka will be on the committee's agenda,” Mehrzad Limouchi said in the first meeting of the Iran-Sri Lanka Joint Trade Committee held at the place of ICCIMA on Monday.

As reported, the meeting was attended by ICCIMA board members as well as the members of the Iran-Sri Lanka Joint Trade Committee.

Speaking in the gathering, Farzad Mehrani, the acting head of the ICCIMA international affairs office mentioned facilitating trade and pursuing the removal of trade barriers as the most important goals of forming the above-mentioned committee.

The official noted that the ICCIMA has great capacities to help businessmen, and the Iran-Sri Lanka Joint Trade Committee, as an advisory network, is part of those capacities, and the private sector can use it to solve their business problems.

Iran’s annual non-oil exports to Sri Lanka stood at about $50 Million in 2018 before the U.S. re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

Iran’s major exports to Sri Lanka include crude oil, iron and steel bars, bitumen, white cement, metallic products, and many petrochemical items, while Sri Lanka’s major exports to Iran include tea, can tops, dried and fresh coconuts, cacao and various types of paper and cardboard stickers.

Back in December 2021, Iran and Sri Lanka signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) based on which Sri Lanka would settle $251 million in oil import dues owed to Iran by bartering tea.

The agreement was inked by Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman Pak and Sri Lanka Minister of Plantation Ramesh Pathirana in Colombo.

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