Iran defies the West by inaugurating a hydroelectric complex and strengthening its relationship with Sri Lanka

After a visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi continued his tour Wednesday with a trip to Sri Lanka. The president landed just a minutes-long car ride from the Uma Oya hydroelectric complex, financed in part by Iran and built by Iranian company FARAB.

"The multi-purpose super project is one of the largest in providing technical and engineering services of Iran to other countries in the fields of dam construction, water transfer, and electricity production," according to Iranian state-funded news agency Press TV.

After attending the inauguration of the complex, the Iranian president said that his country has shown that the West does not have a monopoly on technology. Raisi is the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad did so in 2008.

AFP explained that "after an initial investment of $50 million provided by the Iranian Development and Export Bank in 2010, the project was delayed by international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, and Sri Lanka had to finance the rest."

"Our enemies did not want Iran to develop and progress ... so the will and determination of the Iranian people were realized and our enemies were disappointed," Raisi said in a statement reported by The Washington Post.

But the inauguration of the hydroelectric complex is not Iran's only challenge to Western countries on its visit to Sri Lanka. It is also expected to announce a series of agreements with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.