The United States has expressed its willingness to work with the new government as it pursues a future for Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous.

“Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal,  however, adding, that the US looks forward to partnering with the Sri Lankan people to address the challenges and help Sri Lanka realize its true potential.

Biswal, who concluded her visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, stated that it was a privilege to visit Colombo to witness for herself the sense of “excitement and optimism” that the Sri Lankan people have ushered in through the historic January 8 election.

Biswal, accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Atul Keshap, met with a range of political and civil society leaders including President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Urban Development Minister Rauff Hakeem, and State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene.

This is the highest U.S. delegation to Sri Lanka since the presidential elections on Jan. 8.

“In my meetings with government, civil society, private sector, and political parties, I heard a consistent message of hope about translating this promise into a brighter reality for all Sri Lankans.”

“In my conversation with the TNA leadership I heard their perspective for meaningful progress on reconciliation and political inclusion to ensure a peaceful, prosperous future for their constituents within Sri Lanka,” she said in a statement.

However, according to media reports the TNA leaders told the visiting US diplomat that Sri Lanka’s new government is not moving fast enough to free prisoners detained without trial and return private land seized by the military during a decades-long civil war.

US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal met with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders as part of her two-day visit to Sri Lanka.

TNA parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran said the party had hoped the government would release some prisoners before the country’s independence day and would quickly hand back land to its owners.

“We see some lethargy, some delay. We told the US to encourage the government to (move) fairly quickly,” Sumanthiran told AP.

Sumanthiran also said his party discussed power sharing as a political solution to the long ethnic conflict on the island.