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Lankan, Iranian officials discuss how to boost SL tea exports
Sri Lankan and Iranian officials have discussed how to improve Sri Lanka’s tea exports, Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekera said on Saturday (20) in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Wijesekera said that the Chairman and other officials of the Sri Lanka Tea Board had visited the Ministry of Power and Energy on Friday (19) with the officials of the Iranian Embassy and Iranian Trade Promotion Organisation.
The Minister said that in 2023, state-owned petroleum distributor, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had entered into an agreement with the Tea Board to send tea to Iran in lieu of about 250 million dollars owed for oil.
The two sides discussed the progress of the implementation of the agreement, payments to the Tea Board from CPC and how the two sides could improve tea exports, he said.
The barter agreement to pay for oil purchased in 2012 was first reached in 2021 but was implemented only in 2023.
In 2023, the Sri Lanka Tea Board said the agreement would send UDD 5 million worth of tea each month for 48 months.Sri Lanka’s Tea exports for 2023 earned 1.31 billion dollars. (RK)
News
“Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival – Reflection on the Journey from Crisis to Recovery” by Mahinda Siriwardana presented to the President
The book “Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival – Reflection on the Journey from Crisis to Recovery” ,authored by Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Mahinda Siriwardana, was officially launched this morning (08) at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, with the participation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
The first copy of the publication was formally presented to President Disanayake by Mr. Siriwardana during the event.
It has been reported that former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias ‘Pilleyan’ has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and senior officials of SriLankan Airlines was held this afternoon (April 8) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The discussions mainly focused on proposals to transform SriLankan Airlines into a more profitable state-owned enterprise. Special attention was also given to possible short-term and long-term solutions for the airline’s debt management.
The talks further explored new investment opportunities for the airline. The President instructed the officials to take all necessary steps to transform SriLankan Airlines into a profit-making entity.
Although the airline has recorded operational profits, due to past mismanagement and poor decision-making, it remains one of the leading loss-making state enterprises. The current government has decided to reverse the previous administration’s decision to privatize the airline. Instead, it plans to continue operating it as the national carrier while introducing a new management structure to ensure its profitability moving forward.
Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, President’s Senior Advisor Duminda Hulangamuwa, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Sarath Ganegoda along with several senior officials of SriLankan Airlines, were present at the meeting.
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