Will Iranian President Dr. Ebrahim Raisi attend the opening ceremony of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP) while there is a conflict between Iran and Israel?
That was the question many had in mind about the Uma Oya opening ceremony scheduled to be held on April 24. Some media had reported that his participation was not yet confirmed. President Ranil Wickremesinghe invited President Raisi to attend the opening ceremony of the UOMDP when they met during the United Nations (UN) Summit held in September 2023. The Iranian President had accepted it.
While President Raisi’s arrival was declared uncertain, some media in Sri Lanka had reported that some officials of the American Embassy in Colombo had expressed their dissent to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on April 16 and 17. Then it was reported that Israel’s foreign intelligence service – Mossad- and also America’s domestic intelligence service – Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were highly concerned about President Raisi’s visit to Sri Lanka.
Significant moment
However, as promised, Iranian President Raisi arrived in Sri Lanka on April 24 after visiting Pakistan and inaugurated the UOMDP with President Wickremesinghe. Addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony, President Raisi said that Iran would provide Iran’s knowledge and technological know-how for the development of Sri Lanka. He said the opening of the Uma Oya project was a significant moment for South-South cooperation. He also attended the State Banquet held at the Presidential Palace and left for Iran at midnight on the same day by a special Iran Air flight.
More organisations are contributing to the Gaza Fund
Although it was shown that Sri Lanka was fully cooperating with Iran on that day, the picture was different a few weeks ago. A statement made by President Wickremesinghe while addressing the Shilpa Abhimani award ceremony at the BMICH on January 3 this year drew the attention of many.
He said that a ship belonging to the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) would be sent to strengthen the security in the Red Sea. He also said that the SLN ship would be dispatched there to provide extra security for commercial ships from various nations and companies, which were being continuously attacked by the Houthi armed group operating in the region.
This statement by President Wickremesinghe created an extensive debate on local and international political stages. The Houthi fighters claimed that they were attacking the ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s alleged atrocities in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year. Foreign media often introduce the Houthis as a Yemeni armed group supported by Iran. Some people may have thought that this could be used to label President Wickremesinghe as an anti-Muslim leader.
The leader of the Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegyaa (SJB) Sajith Premadasa, while participating in the opening ceremony of a smart classroom at a school in Minuwangoda on January 6, said he was surprised by the President’s decision to send SLN ships to the Red Sea for “Operation Prosperity Guardian” (OPG).
He also said that at a time when the Government was not even able to provide the basic needs of the people of Sri Lanka, deploying a SLN ship for operations in the Red Sea, which incurs a huge sum of money, was a waste of public money. Sri Lanka is rather unfortunate to have such an Opposition Leader who analyses foreign relations in this basic way.
Another strong objection against President Wickremesinghe’s decision on strengthening security in the Red Sea was put forward by Parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran. He said that by providing support to Red Sea OPG operations, Sri Lanka had violated the fundamental principle of its Non-Aligned policy as a leading member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
He has also said that the approval of Parliament had not been obtained to spend money on Red Sea operations. MP Sumanthiran had made this statement when President Wickemesinghe was scheduled to participate in the 19th NAM Summit in Uganda on January 23 and 24 this year.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie J. Chung confirmed on February 28 that Sri Lanka had dispatched a SLN ship to support anti-Houthi operations in the Red Sea, led by the United States.
The SLN was now part of the OPG multinational coalition dedicated to safeguarding commercial ship traffic routes in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, particularly against potential Houthi attacks, she said.
Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe donated over US$ 1 million for the affected children in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian ambassador referring to this donation said that the donation was worth more than a million dollars as it was donated while Sri Lanka was facing severe economic hardships. Since then, more entities and individuals have contributed to this Fund.
A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegation arrived in Sri Lanka this week. The media had reported that the group held a meeting with the Leader of the National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Proper diplomacy
Some of the pro-NPP social media activists, using those pictures of the meeting, had said that the Chinese delegation arrived to meet the NPP Leader as he would be the next President of the country.
But the next day, the media reported that the same Chinese delegation had met Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, the National Organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as well.
They also met President Wickremesinghe. Today, we live in an era where some political parties think it is proper diplomacy to use any representative of foreign Governments for their political advantage.
But in the series of events from the Red Sea OPG operation to providing aid to Palestinian children and the visit of Iranian President Raisi, it is clear how a matured political leader handles foreign relations with the world’s powerful countries.
According to SJB Leader Premadasa, the Red Sea operation is a waste of money. According to Sumanthiran, it is a violation of the Non-Aligned foreign policy. Although some people said that President Wickremesinghe’s involvement in the Red Sea OPG Operation could be projected as an anti-Muslim stance, it should be pointed out that the way everything was resolved in a very careful manner without going into any serious conflicts with any party, has attracted the attention of many observers here and abroad. In fact, several international publications had written about this aspect.
President Wickremesinghe decided to participate in operations in Red Sea OPG operations because maritime security in the region also affects Sri Lanka. On the other hand, it is a threat to commercial naval operations, which is a serious threat not only to Sri Lanka but also globally. Regardless of the criticism, he has followed the right path.
Some International media have stated that Iran supports the Houthi armed group. Therefore, any involvement in Red Sea operations may also be interpreted as an operation against Iran, they said. However, President Wickremesinghe was not prepared to forget Iran, which financially supported the UOMDP, providing oil for decades and is one of the main buyers of Sri Lankan Pure Ceylon Tea. Although it was a risky journey, he did not stop. He was not concerned about the Opposition from the US either.
Foreign policy
Many Sri Lankans expressed their gratitude to the Iranian President Raisi for arriving in Sri Lanka despite the clear risks.
Even though operations in the Red Sea were called anti-Muslim, no one from the Opposition came forward to say that the warm reception of the Iranian President was a mark of strengthening brotherhood with Muslim countries. By this, President Wickremesinghe showed to the world that the foreign policy of Sri Lanka should not be swayed according to the needs of each country but should be in accordance with the policies, goals and needs of Sri Lanka.
