Sri Lankan armed forces choose Indian military establishments for defence training

Indian military establishments have been a preferred choice for the Sri Lankan army in producing leaders of the island nation's Armed forces, the Indian High Commission here said on Friday.

Colombo:Indian military establishments have been a preferred choice for the Sri Lankan army in producing leaders of the island nation's Armed forces, the Indian High Commission here said on Friday. Annually, 1,500-1,700 slots are allocated to Sri Lankan trainees which amount to around INR 500-550 million (more than USD 6 million).

Similarly, officers of the Indian armed forces are also hosted by the friendly armed forces of Sri Lanka, including for specialised (operations), the Indian mission said in statement. The bilateral engagement in defence is multi-dimensional in nature, it said, adding that high-level exchanges continued both ways despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.

The SLINEX (Naval exercise) and MITRA SHAKTI (Army exercise) are held every year alternatively in India and Sri Lanka, the statement said. Both armed forces collaborate closely in dealing with common security challenges such as drug and human trafficking. Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon is currently on a visit to India to attend premier biennial global defence exhibition DefExpo2022.

Tennakoon hailed the partnership between India and Sri Lanka in the defence sphere. Experience sharing and capacity building have been a key pillar of India-Sri Lanka defence cooperation, the statement added. (PTI)