Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad arrived in Sri Lanka Monday afternoon for a two-day official visit during which he will unveil several Iran-funded projects.
Ahamadinejad arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport near the capital Colombo around 7:50 p.m. (14:20 GMT) and he was welcomed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, officials from Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat said.
Ahamadinejad is scheduled to hold talks with President Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama during his visit.
On Tuesday, the Iranian president will inaugurate the Iranian funded 450-million-U.S. dollar Uma Oya irrigation project in Wellawaya in central Sri Lanka which will add 100 megawatts of power to the national grid.
The other major project due to be inaugurated on Tuesday by the Iranian president is the expansion of the Sapugaskanda refinery near Colombo which will make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in aviation fuel and bitumen.
The project envisages increasing the daily output capacity of 50,000 barrels to 150,000 barrels of refined oil.
Both projects are funded by Iran to the tune of over 1.9 billion dollars, which was pledged during Rajapaksa's state visit to Iran in November last year.
The Iranian president's Asian tour also includes Pakistan and India.
Source:Xinhua
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