Bhubaneswar, Nov. 5: Maritime links between Odisha and Sri Lanka will be revived at a two-day event to be hosted at the Utkal University from Friday.

The Kalinga Lanka Foundation is organising the event, Kalinga-Lanka, to strengthen old ties and explore new opportunities.

Odisha or erstwhile Kalinga's maritime heritage has been well established by historians. The upcoming Bali yatra festival celebrated annually in memory Kalinga traders, who used to visit many Southeast Asian countries in ancient times, is testimony to Odisha's maritime links.

However, the trade links have disappeared over the centuries. With Sri Lanka, Odisha shares a rich Buddhist heritage that can help the people associate with each other once again, said a member of the organising committee.

"The event will include academic-cum-business seminar to develop awareness and activate an age-old relationship between Sri Lanka and India through fresh initiatives in the field of education, art, culture, Buddhist pilgrimage, tourism, skill developments, joint ventures and commerce," said Bimalendu Mohanty, former vice-chancellor, Utkal University of Culture.

The highlight of the event will be the interaction between scholar representatives from prominent universities and institutions in the state, India and abroad.

After the event, the Sri Lankan delegates will take part in a three-day course on the heritage of ancient Kalinga.

"The scholars will get a first-hand experience of the rich maritime and Buddhist legacy of eastern India when they visit the Odisha State Maritime Museum in Cuttack and the Buddhist circuit of Ratnagiri-Udayagiri-Lalitgiri. The delegates will also visit the architectural marvels of ancient Kalinga such as Konark Sun Temple, Mukteswar Temple and the Rajarani Temple," said another member of the organising team.

The organisation was founded by bureaucrats, artistes, politicians and academicians from India and Sri Lanka and was launched at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi in May 2014.