India, Sri Lanka Sign Three Defence Agreements to Deepen Security Partnership
India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed three new defence cooperation agreements during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s official visit to Colombo, marking a fresh step in strengthening military and strategic ties between the two neighbouring countries.
The agreements cover the upgrading of Sri Lanka’s L-70 air-defence guns, cooperation between the two countries’ National Defence Colleges, and closer coordination between their National Cadet Corps.
Under the air-defence agreement, India will upgrade six remaining L-70 guns operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force. India had earlier supplied 24 such systems to Sri Lanka and has already provided free maintenance support for 18 of them.
The second agreement will strengthen institutional cooperation between India’s National Defence College and Sri Lanka’s National Defence College, including exchanges of expertise and cooperation in strategic and security studies. The third agreement expands cooperation between the Indian and Sri Lankan National Cadet Corps, including training and joint programmes.
The agreements were exchanged after Rajnath Singh met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. The meeting also covered defence, maritime security, economic cooperation and broader regional security concerns.
President Dissanayake assured India that Sri Lanka would never allow its territory to be used for activities harmful to India’s security interests. The assurance comes amid growing strategic competition and heightened security concerns across the Indian Ocean region.
Beyond the three agreements, India has proposed deeper maritime-security cooperation, including an integrated Maritime Domain Awareness system to improve real-time information sharing on shipping and help combat illegal fishing, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and other threats.
The visit is particularly significant because Singh’s trip is the first official visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Sri Lanka in 38 years, underlining the renewed importance both countries are attaching to their defence relationship.
The two sides also remotely inaugurated three Bailey bridges constructed with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka, highlighting that the bilateral partnership extends beyond military cooperation to infrastructure and disaster-recovery support.
