Wednesday Sep 09, 2026
Wednesday Sep 09, 2026
Wednesday, 9 September 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday said Sri Lanka and India are set to further strengthen their longstanding defence partnership with the signing of three agreements during Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s official visit to Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the significance of the visit at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday, Herath said the primary objective of Singh’s three-day visit was to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation across a range of strategic areas.
The three agreements are scheduled to be exchanged when Singh meets President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The first is a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Cadet Corps of Sri Lanka and India, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two institutions.
The second is an MoU between Sri Lanka’s National Defence College and India’s National Defence College in New Delhi, providing a framework for greater institutional and professional cooperation in defence education.
The third agreement covers Indian assistance for the maintenance of air defence systems operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force.
Herath said India had supplied 24 units of 40mm L70 air defence weapons to the Sri Lanka Air Force between 2000 and 2006.
India has already undertaken maintenance work, free of charge, on 18 of the systems in recent years, he said.
Under the new agreement, India will provide free maintenance support for the remaining six L70 air defence systems, further extending its technical support to Sri Lanka’s air defence capabilities.
Herath said the agreements would contribute to further consolidating military cooperation between the two countries and strengthen the longstanding defence relationship between Sri Lanka and India.
