Indian Army Chief meets Sri Lankan Defence leaders, discusses 'enhanced cooperation'

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday, October 13 met Sri Lankan Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd). Naravane also met Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of Sri Lankan Army General Shavendra Silva. During the meeting, they expressed interest in exploring new avenues for strengthening India-Sri Lanka defence ties. 

General Naravane meets Sri Lankan Defence Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff

On Tuesday, October 12, General MM Naravane arrived in Sri Lanka, where he was welcomed by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Sri Lankan Army at the airport.

Taking to Twitter, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka informed about the meeting between Indian Army Chief General Naravane, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) and Commander of Sri Lankan Army General Shavendra Silva.

Indian Army also informed about the meeting on Twitter. Indian Army in a tweet, said, "General MM Naravane #COAS called on General GDH Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) Secretary, Ministry of Defence and discussed steps to take forward the excellent defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and India."

Revealing details of the meeting between General Silva and General Naravane, the Indian Army in a tweet said that the two army chiefs discussed issues related to strengthening bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries. On 13th October, Naravane met Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

During the meeting, they discussed issues of "mutual and strategic cooperation". General MM Naravane laid a wreath at Indian Peace Keeping Force War Memorial and paid tributes to the Indian Army soldiers who laid down their lives during the Peace Keeping Operations in Sri Lanka. 

In a Twitter post, the Indian Army said that during his four-day visit to Sri Lanka from October 12 to October 16, General Naravane will be meeting the civilian and military leadership of the island nation.

As per the government press release, General Naravane, during his visit, will be interacting with the Service Chiefs, visit the Headquarters of the Sri Lankan Army - Gajaba Regimental Headquarters, and the Sri Lankan Military Academy.

The Ministry of Defence informed that the Chief of Army Staff will witness the culmination phase of the joint exercise between India and Sri Lanka, "Exercise Mitra Shakti". Later, Gen Naravane will also address the students and faculty at the Defence Services Command and Staff College at Batalanda. 

Image: Twitter/@IndiainSL