Indian Air Chief arrives

The Hindu: The Indian Air Force Chief Pradeep Vasant Naik arrived here on Sunday, on a four-day visit to strengthen ties and hold discussions on the future of cooperation between the two forces.

His visit follows a series of high-profile visits of the Army Chief, the Navy Chief, the Defence Secretary and the External Affairs Minister in the recent past. All the visits and the dialogues with their Sri Lankan counterparts have focused on the need to build a peace-time relationship between the armed forces of the two countries.  Air Chief Marshal Naik will meet President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, External Affairs Minister G.L.Peiris, and the Commanders of the armed forces. On his arrival, he was received by his Sri Lankan air force counterpart Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke at the airport.

Pakistan Army Chief due

Just as the Indian Air Chief leaves Colombo on 19 January, Pakistan’s Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will land in Sri Lanka for strengthening the military relationship between the two countries. Both Pakistan and China had helped in the Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE.

Newspaper reports said that General Kayani’s three day visit would take him to the Staff College and other military establishments. He would also meet a host of Sri Lankan leaders, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa.