COLOMBO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road initiative has provided a great opportunity for Sri Lanka to strengthen its national economy, Sri Lanka's Secretary General of National Economic Council (NEC) and Chief Economist Lalith Samarakoon has said.

During talks with Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan on Monday, Samarakoon said the NEC will coordinate all related departments to speed up the implementations of the joint projects and deepen the friendship of the two countries, according to the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka.

During the talk, Cheng said China attaches great importance to the bilateral relations, and is willing to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries and actively push forward the practical cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative.

The bilateral cooperation has yielded early results, bringing tangible benefits to both peoples, Cheng said.