The United States expressed its support to develop Sri Lanka as a regional hub for trade and investment in Asia, which would connect trade flows among ASEAN, India, the Middle East, and Africa through free and open seas that would be the key to growth of the region, says the joint statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and the U.S. Department of State on the Sri Lanka-United States Partnership Dialogue held at Colombo yesterday (6th Nov.).