Colombo: Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka from December 13 -16, 2022 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’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.”

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.”

The Navy Chief also met Sri Lankan Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne and discussed military diplomacy between the two nations and 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.

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.”