New Delhi: Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will be on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka from 13 to 16 December.

The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, said, “Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval the Staff (CNS), will be visiting Sri Lanka from 13 to 16 December. The CNS has been invited as the Chief Guest and Reviewing Officer for the Commissioning Parade at the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, scheduled on 15 December 2022.”

“During the visit, the CNS will undertake interactions with senior political and defence leadership of Sri Lanka. He would also be visiting other defence establishments of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and review progress of various bilateral defence cooperation activities,” the ministry said.

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.

The Indian Navy also supports several capacity building measures of Sri Lanka Navy such as 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, it said.

In addition, 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, such as the MILAN, Goa Maritime Conclave, Admiral’s Cup Sailing Regatta, etc.

The forthcoming visit would further enhance the long standing bilateral defence cooperation with Sri Lanka, specifically in the maritime domain.