Iran’s Raisi inaugurates project in Sri Lanka, says West doesn’t monopolize knowledge, technology

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says his country has proven the West doesn’t have a monopoly on technology while inaugurating a hydropower and irrigation project in Sri Lanka. Raisi is the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka on Wednesday since former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad visited the country in 2008. The project, valued at $514 million, was started in 2010 by an Iranian engineering group and Iran initially provided $50 million. It was scheduled for completion in 2015 but was delayed by international sanctions against Iran, technical issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said in a statement ahead of Raisi’s visit.