India, Sri Lanka to Sign Three Defence Cooperation Agreements

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka and India are expected to further strengthen their longstanding defence partnership with the signing of three key agreements during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's official visit to the island, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Speaking on the significance of the visit, Minister Herath said the primary objective of the Indian Defence Minister's visit is to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation between the two countries across a range of strategic sectors.

According to the Minister, three agreements are scheduled to be exchanged when Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The first agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka's National Cadet Corps and the National Cadet Corps of India.

The second agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka's National Defence College and India's National Defence College in New Delhi.

The third agreement relates to support provided by India for the maintenance of air defence systems operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Minister Herath noted that the Government of India supplied 24 units of 40mm L70 air defence weapons to the Sri Lanka Air Force between 2000 and 2006.

He said India had already undertaken free maintenance work on 18 of those air defence systems in recent years.

Under the new agreement, India will also provide maintenance support free of charge for the remaining six L70 air defence weapons.

The agreements are expected to further consolidate military cooperation between Sri Lanka and India.