Speaking in Colombo hours ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris told media that China-Sri Lanka relations are set to improve from their current all-time high and expand significantly into other areas.

The focus of the China-Sri Lanka friendship will be on investment and trade, he added.

Sri Lanka will be the third leg of Xi's ongoing four-country Asia trip, out of which three are South Asian countries. He has already visited Tajikistan and the Maldives and will be visiting India to wrap up the tour.

"When I was in China on an official visit, I met the foreign minister and had a discussion on this and I assured him that Sri Lanka was strongly supportive of this concept," he said speaking of the maritime silk route.

Prof. Peiris pointed out that the geographical location of Sri Lanka made it part of the ancient silk route and would once again find resonance in the modern version proposed by the Chinese government.

"President Xi's concept involves a dual track, which is a close association at sea and on land. The idea is to bring the economies of these countries closer, to enhance their synergies, in particular in terms of international trade. We are now in the process of working out the modalities of a concept that Sri Lanka finds very congenial and we have extended to that concept our strong support," he added.

Reiterating support for China's maritime silk road initiative, the minister also went on to say the two countries are working on streamlining customs and tax policies, increasing engagement between central banks and paving the way to reduce trade barriers.

Speaking on the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, the Minister described it as a "very significant development" because it would enable Sri Lankan exports to reach the vast markets of China "on very generous terms."

He also recounted China's assistance in providing funding for massive infrastructure development projects since the end of a three-decade war in 2009.

A port in the southern part of the country, a second international airport, numerous highways, railways and roads were highlighted by him, along with a 1.2 billion U.S. dollar coal- power plant, which will be opened by President Xi on Tuesday.
(with inputs from Xinhua)