TEHRAN : The Ambassador of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Prof. Fazeeha Azmi, presented her Letters of Credence to the President of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian at Office of the President in Tehran on 22 July . She
was the first lady Ambassador to have been appointed from Sri Lanka to the Islamic Republic of
Iran.
Ambassador (Prof.) Fazeeha Azmi conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of the President
of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Disanayaka and expressed confidence in the continued growth of
bilateral relations between the two countries. She expressed her intention to explore new avenues
of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in view of the 65th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Iran, which will be commemorated
in 2027.
President (Dr.) Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated Ambassador (Prof.) Fazeeha Azmi on the
commencement of her new tenure as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Iran. He reaffirmed Iran’s
interest to further strengthening the relations under the full activation of the existing bilateral
framework with Sri Lanka, particularly in the economic sector. The discussion also focused on
promoting tourism and higher education sectors of cooperation between Sri Lanka and Iran with
the aim of deepening the people-to-people contacts.
While appreciating for all assistance, extended by the Government of Iran to Sri Lanka,
Ambassador (Prof.) Fazeeha Azmi appreciated the Iran President’s commitment to further
enhance bilateral relations and underlined the importance of further exploring trade, medicine and
engineering services opportunities between the two countries. The Ambassador also expressed that
Sri Lanka expects sustainable peace in Iran. The President assured his fullest support for the
Ambassador’s work plan and encouraged continued engagement to explore new avenues of
cooperation.
Ambassador (Prof.) Azmi is a senior academic, with a career spanning over 20 years in teaching,
research, and scholarly work in the fields of youth, poverty and livelihood changes, women and
migration, internal displacement, tourism, small-scale fisheries, urban cultural heritage and postwar development in Sri Lanka. She held appointments in Sri Lanka, India, Norway, Fiji, and
Canada and contributed extensively to national and international research and academic
collaborations.
Prior to being appointed as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Islamic Republic of Iran, she served
as a Professor in Geography at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. Prof. Fazeeha Azmi
earned her first degree in Geography with a First Class from the University of Peradeniya. She did
her M.Phil in Social Change and PhD in Geography at the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology in Norway. She is a past pupil of Mawanella Zahira National School in Kegalle
district.
