India on Friday sought first mover advantage with Sri Lanka's newly elected government, with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar becoming the first high-level foreign dignitary to arrive in Colombo since it assumed office.

Jaishankar’s daylong visit to Colombo comes within a fortnight of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Marxist politician heading a party traditionally hostile to India, being sworn in as President.

Sri Lankan media recently reported that the new government had decided to review all the connectivity projects with India besides the Adani power projects after the upcoming parliamentary elections.

During the presidential election campaign, Dissanayake had promised to cancel the Adani group’s wind power project in Sri Lanka.

Neither country’s readout mentioned the proposed review or Dissanayake’s election promise. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, asked at the weekly briefing if this had come up, sidestepped the question saying the meetings were still on.

According to the ministry’s readout, Jaishankar had assured Colombo that India’s ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka would continue.

"He emphasised that India has offered to modernise the Kankesanthurai port through a grant to the tune of $61.5 million," it said.

"He also conveyed that payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects to the tune of $20 million could be converted into grant. India has also decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to the Sri Lankan railways."

At his meeting with the President, Jaishankar spoke about the ongoing initiatives in the fields of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development, the ministry said.

The Indian readout quoted Dissanayake as saying that India’s economic support was critical to realising his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people.

"He referred to the potential of export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources," it said.

Jaishankar is said to have raised the subject of the Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka, seeking their early release along with their boats besides reconsideration of the heavy fines imposed on them.

On the ethnic issue and reconciliation process, Jaishankar iterated India’s support for the aspirations of all communities, including the Tamils, for equality, justice, dignity and peace while maintaining the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

"The full and effective implementation of the 13th Amendment of its Constitution and the early holding of Provincial Council elections will facilitate these objectives," he said.

Dissanayake’s party, the JVP, had in the past carried out an insurrection in Sri Lanka against the India-Lanka Accord of 1987 and the 13th Amendment, which seeks to devolve power to Tamils in the country. Although the JVP has now mellowed, it remains opposed to the accord.