US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, praised Sri Lanka Wednesday (09 Dec) for making progress in resettling hundreds of thousands of IDPs.

Blake told reporters that he saw evidence of progress when he visited Manik Farm and that since the end of war, human rights have improved in Sri Lanka, reported Associated Press (AP).

Blake also called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday.

Answering questions with regard to a US Senate report on the change of US policy towards Sri Lanka, Blake stated that he wouldn’t say that the US held a confrontational attitude towards Sri Lanka and noted that US was Sri Lanka’s most important trade partner, purchasing one quarter of Sri Lanka’s exports, reported Daily News.

He said that US was ready to continue help in de-mining and reconstruction, with $6.6 million already contributed towards the de-mining process.