9th edition of Army-to-Army talks between India and Sri Lanka underway in Pune

New Delhi: The 9th Annual Army to Army Staff Talks between India and Sri Lanka is being conducted from Feb 10 -12 at Pune. In a tweet the Indian Army said, the three-day talks will focus on further strengthening defence cooperation engagements including training and exchanges in the fields of sports & culture.

The Sri Lankan delegation comprising six Armed Forces officers led by Maj Gen HP Ranasinghe also visited the Military Institute of Technology, Pune today where it interacted with Commandant, Air Vice Marshal V Rajasekhar and faculty members on the training methodology and best practices being undertaken at the institute.

India and Sri Lanka share close defence cooperation marked by an exchange of high-level visits, training cooperation, supply of defence equipment and capacity building.
At a time when China is making attempts to expand influence in the island country, particularly in the maritime sphere, the defence cooperation with Sri Lanka has witnessed significant augmentation in recent time.

The eighth edition of the joint military exercise 'Mitra Shakti' was held last October. Army Chief MM Naravane visited the island country in the same month to enhance defence cooperation between the two nations.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also paid a two-day visit to Colombo in November last year to attend a trilateral maritime security cooperation dialogue among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

It has also been reported that a proposal for the supply of two Dornier aircraft for the Sri Lankan military is being discussed by India and Sri Lanka.

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