New Delhi, Sep 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hoped for progress on key bilateral initiatives with Sri Lanka and said after talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe that "projects will gather speed now".

Modi said that peace and stability in the region is "key to our success. When there is stability we prosper".

"We had a long discussion on different areas concerning our two countries," the prime minister said in a media statement after the talks.

"This is a relationship that touches the hearts of ordinary Indians and Sri Lankans," he added.

"We also expressed hope that progress on key bilateral initiatives and projects will gather speed now."