Sri Lanka’s State Minister for Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at an aviation confab has brought out the potential for greater defence co-operation between the two countries, India’s embassy in Colombo said.
Forums like Aero India can be used for defence cooperation through joint ventures, co-development and production whilst investing in research and development, the High Commission quoted Minister Tennakoon as saying.
Minister Tennakoon had been accompanied by a business delegation from Sri Lanka to identify avenues for greater cooperation.
Minister Tennakoon had participated in Aero India 2023 and SPEED- Defence Ministers’ Conclave.
He had also highlighted the importance of a collective response through multilateral efforts like the Colombo Security Conclave to tackle the common security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.
The minister had met the Chief of Defence Staff and all three service chiefs in addition to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Sri Lanka Armed forces already operating Indian defence equipment like Indra radar, offshore patrol vessels and Army training simulators, the statement said.
India has committed supply a floating dock, Dornier aircraft to build up capacity.