Indian Navy Chief strengthens defence ties with Sri Lanka

Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka, held separate courtesy meetings with Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) and Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) yesterday (September 22).

Admiral Tripathi first met the Deputy Minister of Defence at his office in Colombo yesterday morning.

Discussions focused on strengthening defence diplomacy, enhancing humanitarian assistance and disaster response, combating illegal activities and maritime crimes such as drug trafficking and human smuggling, expanding training and capacity-building, improving maritime domain awareness, and promoting regional maritime safety and security.

In the afternoon, Admiral Tripathi met the Defence Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in Sri Jayawardanapura, Kotte.

Talks centred on strengthening military-to-military ties, expanding training opportunities, enhancing collaboration in the Indian Ocean Region, curbing Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, information sharing, and further developing defence diplomacy between Sri Lanka and India.