In an interview with Xinhua yesterday (13), Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping's initiative of 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. He has added that the economic corridor bears significance to the island nation's development and has confirmed that Sri Lanka will join China's efforts in the Silk Road trade cooperation.

Rajapaksa has said Xi's scheduled visit in Sri Lanka, which would be the first of Chinese president over the past 28 years, is " important" for the development of the bilateral ties.

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The President has mainly focused on the economical aspect of the Sino-Sri Lanka ties, saying that the two nations have a history of friendly relations and the friendship was ushered into a new era since the two sides upgraded their ties to strategic cooperative partnership in May last year.

"Since I took office of the president, I have toured China for seven times, during which I have met President Xi Jinping in several occasions," Rajapaksa has said.

He has mentioned that Sri Lanka wishes to boost cooperation with China in trade and investment, which harmonizes with the framework of the 21st Century Silk Road.

Chinese enterprises have been carrying out a number of infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa has praised the establishment as having positive impact on his country's social stability and prosperity.

"Our cooperation covers many sectors including industry, energy, technology, infrastructure and tourism" he has said referring to the planned Free Trade Agreement (FTA) dialogue. He expressed confidence that the FTA will boost the trade and investment ties as well as Sri Lanka's export to China, creating new momentum for the island nation's development.