Iran’s Raisi inaugurates Sri Lanka hydropower project, says West doesn’t have monopoly over technology, knowledge

Ebrahim Raisi, the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since 2008, says the project marks his country’s ability to share knowledge with other nations

Sri Lankans express gratitude for the visit and project, which will add 290GWh of electricity annually and irrigate land in the country’s dry zone

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Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi (right) and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) inaugurating the Uma Oya irrigation and hydro-electricity project in Badulla district of Sri Lanka earlier this month. Photo: Sri Lanka President’s Office / AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 30 Apr 2024Updated: 10:41pm, 30 Apr 2024

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a one-day visit to Sri Lanka last week for the opening of a major Iranian-assisted hydropower and irrigation project, which both he and Sri Lankan media portrayed as a victory over the West.

“The Western countries tried to convince all others that knowledge and technology is exclusive to those countries,” Raisi said, addressing Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe and other top officials during the event on Wednesday.

He added that the “idea” was rooted in “colonialism and arrogance” and that Iran was now able to share its knowledge with others, currently having projects in 20 countries.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe (centre right) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (centre left) inspecting the guards of honour at the presidential secretariat in Colombo on April 24. Photo: EPA-EFE/Sri Lankan President’s Media Division

Raisi underscored that the project symbolised not only the friendship between Iran and Sri Lanka but also signified enhanced cooperation, integration, harmony and unity among Asian nations.