COLOMBO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka launched the "Praja Shakthi" national program on Friday in Colombo, aiming to eradicate rural poverty and uplift local communities. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presided over the launch, highlighting rural poverty eradication as a top priority for the government.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe also attended the event.

In his address, Dissanayake called on the government, public servants, and citizens to unite in the fight against rural poverty. He emphasized that the government has strengthened both human and physical resources in the state sector to change public attitudes as part of the initiative.

A National Policy Council, chaired by the president and including nine cabinet ministers, will guide the program at the national level. An Operations Committee, led by Minister of Rural Development, Social Security, and Community Empowerment Upali Pannilage, will oversee the implementation. The government will also establish committees at every level to carry out rural poverty eradication programs.

At a press conference on Thursday, Secretary to the President Nandika Sanath Kumanayake said that Sri Lanka has 14,008 villages, all of which will be connected through a new digital platform, which will engage citizens directly in the country's rural poverty eradication efforts, he said. ■