A delegation of 39 officers belonging to Sri Lankan armed forces will visit India

As part of its move to contribute towards Sri Lankan armed forces’ capacity building including personality development initiative, India has organized an international collaboration visit for officers of Sri Lankan armed forces at Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Indian embassy said in a statement released on Saturday.

Though it has not been announced as when this visit will take place, the embassy statement said the delegation of 39 officers will not only be exposed to the functioning of all three Service Headquarters at New Delhi but will also get familiarized with the routine of tri-services field formations.

Several interactions with top armed forces officials and visits to various industries and cultural sites have also been scheduled during the visit, it informed.

In order to mark the significant event, Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K. Jacob and Assistant Defence Adviser Lt Col Puneet Sushil, visited DSCSC, Batalanda near Colombo on Saturday to interact with the delegation and to personally see them off for the visit to India.

During the interaction, the Deputy High Commissioner stressed that India and Sri Lanka have centuries old umbilical linkage underpinned by Buddhism and people to people ties. Thus, the initiative has hit the ‘right chord’ and is central to constructively engaging with the hearts and minds of Sri Lanka Armed Forces.

Maj Gen Lalith Herath, Deputy Commandant, DSCSC sincerely appreciated India’s efforts and persistent support towards realization of the visit.

He also underlined that the visit would immensely contribute towards developing greater understanding among the student officers about India’s culture, technical prowess and the structure of elite Indian Armed Forces.

These visits are an initiative to promote camaraderie and bonhomie among the Armed Forces of both the countries and also testify to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy with specific focus on industrial expertise in the overall ambit of defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, the statement said.

This would further provide an ideal platform to develop personal and everlasting bonds of friendship between the Armed Forces of the two countries who already share a deep and robust professional relationship, it further added.