India, Sri Lanka sign 5-year defence MoU during PM Modi's Colombo visit

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, signed Saturday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the island nation, will remain in force for five years, the country top defence official Sampath Thuiyakontha said.

"India annually trains around 750 Sri Lankan military personnel. This defence partnership continues to be an invaluable asset," Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Thuiyakontha told a press briefing here.

The MoU on defence cooperation will remain in force for five years, he said, adding that the decision to formalise the MoU was reached during the 2023 defence dialogue between the two nations, with the Sri Lankan cabinet approving the agreement in January this year.

As part of the cooperation under this MoU, both parties are committed to respecting each other's military and national laws, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter-including sovereign equality and non-intervention in internal affairs, Thuiyakontha said.

He also noted that either party has the right to terminate the MoU by providing three months' advance notice.

The defence cooperation MoU was one of seven agreements signed during PM Modi's bilateral talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It was signed by Defence Ministry Secretary Thuiyakontha on behalf of Sri Lanka and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on behalf of India.

It is for the first time that India and Sri Lanka have inked a major defence pact to institutionalise a framework for deeper engagement in the military domain.