Sri Lanka Thursday thanked India for the development partnership assistance provided over the years and said that it looks forward to strengthening the ties between the two countries.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe lauded India’s development initiatives as the first phase of the Slave Island redevelopment project was inaugurated.

Under the LKR 7000 million project, Tata Housing transformed century-old, high-density dwelling units and shops.

The project has ensured re-housing of the existing community in a residential complex with improved infrastructure, the Indian embassy said in a statement.

The houses were handed over to around 626 families and fully developed commercial spaces to around 114 shop owners.

Wickremesinghe thanked the Indian Government for the development of partnership assistance over the years.

He specially mentioned the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka after the Easter attacks. He said Modi’s visit provided a big boost to the confidence in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister said he looked forward to further strengthening the connectivity and people-to-people ties between both the countries.

In his inaugural speech, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu thanked the Sri Lankan government for giving the status of Strategic Development Project to this redevelopment project.

He said that this was yet another manifestation of the confidence that Indian firms have in the Sri Lankan economy. He stressed that India and Sri Lanka are going through a phase of rapid urbanisation and there was a need to ensure smart development of cities with due emphasis on ‘inclusivity’ and ‘sustainability’.

Tata is a well-known name in Sri Lanka. They have a presence in the island nation since 1961 in several verticals like transport, communications and hospitality.

-Agencies