A top United Nations (UN) official has kicked off his visit to Sri Lanka to assess and understand post-war development in the island state and how greater contribution can be made by the UN, a statement said here on Monday.

UN Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director of Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Haoliang Xu, has arrived in Sri Lanka and is looking forward to better understanding the human development priorities of Sri Lanka.

Xu said that he looks forward to understanding the progress made in the first year of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2013-2017. "UN's work in Sri Lanka has shifted largely towards more development-focused programmes."

"While understanding the impressive progress made so far, I also look forward to better understanding the human development priorities of the country as well as how we as the United Nations could strengthen our support to achieve these priorities," he added.

Xu said that his visit will in particular focus on UNDP's Programme in Sri Lanka, in the areas of access to justice, gender equality, socio-economic development, empowerment and disaster risk management.

During the visit, Xu is expected to meet and exchange views with high-level government officials, development partners and the civil society.

He will also visit the northern part of the country that was most affected by the civil war during his four-day tour.

Xu will also engage in a policy dialogue with eminent economists and representatives from think-tanks on Sri Lanka's development outlook, and with a cross-section of women leaders on issues pertaining to gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.