India-Sri Lanka ties: Rajnath Singh begins 3-day visit to strengthen defence partnership

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday departed for Sri Lanka for a threeday visit to the island nation focussed at strengthen bilateral maritime and defence cooperationDuring his visit Singh will hold talks with Sri Lankan leadership on various issues to further strengthen bilateral ties in mutually beneficial areas including a strong maritime and defence partnership He will lead a highlevel delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External AffairsRaksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh today left for Sri Lanka on a 3day visit to the island nation Leading a highlevel delegation Raksha Mantri will hold talks with the leadership of Sri Lanka on a range of issues to further strengthen traditionally strong and friendly bilateral relations in mutually beneficial areas including a strong maritime and defence partnership He will also interact with the Indian diaspora in Colombo during the visit the Ministry of Defence posted on XRaksha Mantri Shri rajnathsingh today left for Sri Lanka on a 3day visit to the island nation Leading a highlevel delegation Raksha Mantri will hold talks with the leadership of Sri Lanka on a range of issues to further strengthen traditionally strong and friendly bilateralhellip pictwittercom4OvhI8NCaWmdash Ministry of Defence Government of India SpokespersonMoD September 8 2026Rajnath Singh said that he looked forward to a productive engagement with Sri Lankan leadership during his visit to the island nation He described Sri Lanka as one of the important partners of India under the Neighbourhood First and MAHASAGAR visionIn a post on X Singh wrote Leaving New Delhi for Sri Lanka on a threeday official visit Looking forward to a productive engagement with the leadership of Sri Lanka during the visit I shall also be interacting with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Sri Lanka Besides our longstanding partnership as well as deep historical and civilisational ties Sri Lanka is one of our most important partners under the Neighbourhood First and MAHASAGAR initiativesLeaving New Delhi for Sri Lanka on a three day official visit Looking forward to a productive engagement with the leadership of Sri Lanka during the visit I shall also be interacting with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Sri LankaBesides our longstanding partnership as wellhellipmdash Rajnath Singh rajnathsingh September 8 2026According to the statement released by the Ministry of Defence India and Sri Lanka share deep civilisational ties and a multifaceted partnership anchored by regional security defence economic and trade cooperation and strong peopletopeople tiesThe bilateral relationship received further impetus when India assisted Sri Lanka during the economic crisis and provided assistance as one of the first responders in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka in 2025 It underscored Indiarsquos continued commitment and emphasis on the lsquoNeighbourhood Firstrsquo policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modirsquos vision of MAHASAGAR Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions the statement saidLate last year India had announced a reconstruction package of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah It covered rehabilitation and restoration of road railway and bridge connectivity construction of destroyed and damaged houses health and education sectors agriculture and better disaster response and preparednessIn August this year Sri Lankan Navy Commander ViceAdmiral Damian Fernando was on an official visit to India During the visit he met Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani and reviewed bilateral defence cooperationCDS General NS Raja Subramani interacted with ViceAdmiral Damian Fernando Sri Lanka Navy Commander during his official visit to India The leaders reviewed existing bilateral defence cooperation explored new avenues for joint military training and capacity enhancement and discussed key regional security matters to further deepen the IndiandashSri Lanka strategic partnership the Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff posted on XViceAdmiral Fernando also called on Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh with the discussions focusing on the progress of various initiatives under the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Plan between the two countriesFernando also met Indian Navy chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan during which the two sides discussed ways to strengthen maritime security cooperation between the two countriesDuring the meeting both sides reaffirmed their commitment to uphold peace and stability in the Indian Ocean IOR region aligned with Indias MAHASAGAR vision according to the Indian NavyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion 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