The visiting Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake today, with three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) exchanged to expand bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
Singh, undertaking an official three-day visit, also held extensive discussions on strengthening existing defence, economic, maritime, and regional partnerships.
He met Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, and will meet Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha.
Background
Singh is the first Indian Defence Minister to visit Sri Lanka in 38 years, since K.C. Pant visited the country in 1988 while serving in Rajiv Gandhi's Cabinet.
Alongside the exchange of the three MoUs, Singh and President Dissanayake remotely inaugurated three Bailey bridges installed in the Kurunegala and Batticaloa districts, constructed through a grant from the Indian government.
Singh is scheduled to depart Sri Lanka on September 10.
Three MOUs
One agreement covers the upgrade of L-70 air defense guns for the Sri Lanka Air Force, while another addresses academic cooperation between India’s National Defence College and Sri Lanka’s National Defence College.
The third agreement covers cooperation between the Sri Lanka National Cadet Corps and the Indian National Cadet Corps.
The MoUs were exchanged by Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara and High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
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