Sri Lankan president calls China close partner

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena considers China as a close partner, the president's office said on Tuesday.

President Maithripala Sirisena said that it is the foreign policy of the present government to win the backing of all countries by sticking to the non-aligned policy.

He said Sri Lanka needs the cooperation of all nations in its development drive and that the government is in the process of promoting goodwill with the United Nations.

The president's office said that Sirisena made these remarks during his ongoing visit to Britain to take part in a Commonwealth Day event.

The president's office said that the British government had inquired from Sirisena about Sri Lanka's relationship with India and China. In reply, President Maithripala had said India is the neighbor of Sri Lanka while China is a close partner.

"The foreign policy of the country has been given a novel face and ties with the regional countries will be further strengthened under it. While pointing out that the people of Sri Lanka elected him to power to create an atmosphere for the people to live without fear and suspicion, President Maithripala said he would also minimize the revenue gap between the rich and poor," the president's office said.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan Media Minister Gayantha Karunathillaka said the country will continue with the development projects initiated by the former government although some had to be reviewed.

"Claims that the new government is attempting to stop the development projects initiated by the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is completely false. However, there is a need to review some of the projects owing to concerns raised over them," the minister said.

The comments came a week after the government temporarily suspended a China-funded Port City project in capital Colombo.