CNS Admiral R Hari Kumar visits Sri Lankan Navy Ship SLNS Sindurala, naval facilities at Colombo port

During the interactions, the Sri Lankan navy leadership and the ship's crew acknowledged the operational utility of the offshore patrol vessels developed by Goa Shipyard Limited.

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R Hari Kumar visited the Sri Lankan Navy ship SLNS Sindurala and Naval facilities at Colombo port. During the interactions, the Sri Lankan navy leadership and the ship's crew acknowledged the operational utility of the offshore patrol vessels developed by Goa Shipyard Limited. Sharing details regarding Naval Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar's visit, spokesperson of the Indian Navy at IHQ MoD(Navy) and DPR, Ministry of Defence, on Twitter wrote, "The CNS visited #SriLankaNavy Ship SLNS Sindurala and Naval facilities at #Colombo Port. During interactions, the @srilanka_navy leadership & the ship's crew acknowledged the operational utility of the OPVs, built by @goashipyardltd for the Sri Lanka Navy." Notably, Admiral R Hari Kumar is on an official visit to Sri Lanka from December 13-16.

On December 13, Admiral R Hari Kumar held a meeting with Sri Lankan Navy Commander Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne at Navy Headquarters. During the meeting, the two sides held "fruitful discussions" on maritime security, issues of mutual interest and prospects for further strengthening cooperation between the two nations in the maritime sector. Indian Navy spokesperson tweeted, "Adm R Hari Kumar #CNS on an official visit to #SriLanka 13 -16 Dec 22 met with VAdm Nishantha Ulugetenne, Commander of the @srilanka_navy. Fruitful discussions on #maritimesecurity matters of common interest & prospects for further enhancing cooperation in the maritime domain."

On December 13, Admiral R Hari Kumar also met Sri Lankan Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne. During the meeting, the visiting Navy Chief and the Defence Secretary discussed military diplomacy between Sri Lanka and India. After the meeting, R Hari Kumar and General Kamal Gunaratne exchanged momentos, according to the statement released by Sri Lankan Defence Ministry. Admiral R Hari Kumar also visited the National Defence College of Sri Lanka at Colombo. He held a meeting with Major General Amal Karunasekara, Commandant, of National Defence College and the college faculty. The two sides called for further engagements between the National Defence Colleges of India and Sri Lanka.

Notably, Admiral R Hari Kumar has been invited as the Chief Guest and Reviewing Officer for the Commissioning Parade at the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA) scheduled to take place in Trincomalee on December 15. Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka shared pictures of Admiral R Hari Kumar's arrival in the island nation on Twitter. Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted, "Admiral R Hari Kumar #CNS @indiannavy arrived in #SriLanka on an official visit. #CNS was warmly received by RAdm UNP Parera, COS @srilanka_navy on his arrival."

Earlier on December 12, the Ministry of Defence in a press release noted, "The Indian Navy regularly interacts with the Sri Lanka Navy through the medium of annual Staff Talks and pursues several operational engagements at regular frequency." It further said, "Indian Navy also supports several capacity building measures of Sri Lanka Navy such as the provision of naval platforms, including indigenously constructed Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and the Dornier aircraft of the Indian Navy deployed to Sri Lanka since August 2022."

Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence noted, "the Indian Navy remains actively engaged in various capability enhancement projects, including training of the Sri Lanka Navy personnel in India. Sri Lanka Navy is a regular participant of various multilateral engagements hosted by the Indian Navy, including MILAN, Goa Maritime Conclave, and Admiral's Cup Sailing Regatta." (ANI)

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