Tehran, Colombo agree to settle oil dues with tea

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and Head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Alireza Peyman-Pak arrived in Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Monday and inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the minister of Sri Lankan Plantations Industries Navin Dissanayake.

Under the MoU, Sri Lanka's debt to Iran for its past oil imports will be settled with tea exports in a barter system.

During his visit to Colombo, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry Alireza Peyman-Pak also met and held talks with different Sri Lankan officials including Chairman of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, head of Trade Promotion Organization, deputy foreign minister to discuss ways of economic development and take maximum advantage of existing opportunities between the two countries.

Meanwhile, world media such as Reuters and the BBC have confirmed the report by quoting a Sri Lankan minister as saying that the South Asian country has planned to settle $251 million in oil import dues owed to Iran by bartering tea, amid dwindling foreign reserves.

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