Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who will visit Sri Lanka in the first week of next month, is expected to push for implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed between the two countries in April last year, the Sunday Times learns.
During his first visit in his capacity as defence minister, Mr Singh will have discussions with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who holds the defence portfolio; Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya; and Defence Ministry Secretary Air Vice Marshal (Rtd) Sampath Thuyacontha. He will also meet the tri-force commanders during his two-day stay.
Mr Singh’s trip follows Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Colombo earlier this month. Minister Singh’s visit is part of India’s drive for the speedy implementation of agreements reached during previous high-level visits by leaders of both countries.
An Indian External Affairs Ministry statement said, among other things, that the two sides discussed “modalities for expediting implementation” of energy projects, including the electricity grid interconnection project, the Sampur solar power project and the development of Trincomalee as an energy hub. They agreed to work towards “the earliest possible conclusion” of the tender process for implementation of the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project. And they also directed that discussions be initiated “at the earliest” to conclude an MoU on rehabilitation and modernisation of the Kankesanthurai harbour project, to be implemented under a grant of US $61.5 million.
According to publicly available information, the defence MoU is an umbrella document that makes existing defence cooperation initiatives more structured and covers areas such as more joint exercises, capacity-building in various areas, exchanges in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), increasing port calls by naval units of both countries and exploring defence industry cooperation between the two sides. It will be in force for five years, with the parties having the option of terminating it with three months’ advance notice or continuing it for three more years.
The full MoU has not been made public, either in New Delhi or Colombo. While the Indian government has officially catalogued the document, its public bilateral-documents page provides the title/outcome rather than the actual agreement text. It was one of seven bilateral documents exchanged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka on April 5 last year.
India’s official list of outcomes identifies it under the heading “Defence Cooperation” and says the MoU was signed by India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, and Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha.