Iran Sri Lanka underline regional cooperation in supporting Palestine

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry had a meeting on Monday with Iran’s caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri on the sidelines of the BRICS member states’ foreign ministerial meeting in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Sabry offered his condolences and sympathy to the Iranian government and people over the martyrdom of the country’s officials in a helicopter crash in May.

Bagheri said the late Iranian President Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Sri Lanka will be etched as a historic trip in the ties between Iran and Sri Lanka.

The acting Iranian foreign minister also said, “Although the martyrdom of the Iranian president and foreign minister is a loss for us and the ties between the two countries, we have to protect the valuable legacy of the martyred president and foreign minister and work harder to promote and enhance the ties.”

Bagheri told Sabry, “Sri Lanka's presence in the BRICS group of friends indicates that our ties are not confined to the bilateral scene, but rather, both sides should plan to use the capacities of the two countries in the regional and international arenas more than before.”

The interim head of Iran’s diplomatic service also touched on the ongoing Zionists' crimes in Gaza and stressed, “Today, unilateralism uses terrorism, sanctions, and war as a tool to push its foreign policy and illegitimate interests forward and spread insecurity and instability in the world.”

Meanwhile, he noted, “Americans not only support the Zionists' crimes in Gaza, but also take advantage of international mechanisms such as the (United Nations) Security Council to support the Zionist regime. That is why we witness more countries are willing to join groups like BRICS within the framework of multilateralism.”

During the meeting, Sabry highlighted the very successful and memorable trip by President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to Sri Lanka and reiterated, “We should strongly continue the promotion of cooperation between the two countries in various political and economic fields.”

The Sri Lankan foreign minister expressed his country's readiness to step up cooperation in the regional arena and support the Palestinian people’s rights as a humanitarian task.

Sabry highlighted the special efforts by the Sri Lankan president to deliver humanitarian support to the Palestinian people.