Several agreements in the fields of energy will be signed during the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Sri Lanka. President Ahmadinejad is on his way to Sri Lanka on Monday at the second leg of three-nation tour. During his visit to Sri Lanka, President Ahmadinejad will hold talks with his counterpart, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on issues of bilateral interests.

Iran-funded multi-purpose Uma Oya Project will commence on Tuesday when the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and President Mahinda Rajapaksa ceremonially inaugurate the mega development project in Sri Lanka. Islamic Republic also has voiced its readiness to spend dlrs 700 million for equipping the only Lankan Oil Refinery.

Iran has decided to increase the capacity of the refinery to three fold, from 50,000 pbd to 150,000 pbd. Ahmadinejad is also expected to inspect a number of projects which are carried out jointly by the experts of the two countries. Several bilateral agreements worth dlrs 1.5 billion, for implementing the infrastructure plans will be signed during the visit.

The Iranian president has led a delegation including ministers of foreign affairs, commerce, petroleum and energy and the head of Iran's Exim Bank.

He is also expected to discuss regional issues to help reinforce peace and stability in the region.