President Anura Meets Indian Defence Minister
11-Sep-2026.
Sri Lanka will continue to extend its support towards maintaining peace in the Indian Ocean region. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that whenever Sri Lanka takes decisions based on its national and regional needs, and when it enters into various agreements with different countries as a sovereign nation, it does so while taking regional security into consideration.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks during a meeting with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka. The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 9 September.
During the meeting, the President explained the national programme that has recently been launched to control the drug trade in Sri Lanka. He also said that since the Indian Ocean region has become a centre for drug trafficking, Sri Lanka expects India’s support in efforts to eliminate the drug trade.
The President further said that he was confident that Sri Lanka would receive India’s full cooperation in bringing back Sri Lankan drug traffickers who are currently imprisoned in India. The President also appreciated the support provided by India whenever Sri Lanka faced difficult situations in the past.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that Sri Lanka would continue to extend its support to maintain peace in the Indian Ocean region. He also stated that whenever Sri Lanka makes decisions based on its national and regional requirements, and when it enters into agreements with different countries as a sovereign nation, regional security is taken into consideration.
The President also expressed appreciation for the contribution made by the Indian armed forces towards improving Sri Lanka’s infrastructure facilities affected by Cyclone Ditwah. He said that the new agreements signed between the two countries would help improve the capabilities of the Sri Lankan armed forces and further strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting also included extensive discussions on further strengthening security, economic and maritime cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, their contributions to the region, and the historical ties between the two countries in a manner that would bring mutual benefits to both nations.
Speaking on the occasion, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appreciated Sri Lanka’s contribution towards maintaining the Indian Ocean region as a peaceful region and preventing conflicts from taking place.
He said that under India’s foreign policy of giving priority to neighbouring countries, Sri Lanka holds great importance for India. He also praised the steps taken over the past two years under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to strengthen relations between the two countries.
Special attention was also given to issues relating to fishermen. Discussions were held on obtaining India’s support to protect the important livelihoods of Sri Lankan fishermen and on the need for both countries to work together and cooperate in resolving these issues.
Later, as an important step towards further expanding cooperation between the two countries, three new agreements that had been signed were exchanged in the presence of the President and the Indian Defence Minister.
The three agreements were an agreement on the modernisation of D70 guns for the Sri Lanka Air Force, an agreement on academic cooperation between India’s National Defence College and Sri Lanka’s National Defence College, and an agreement on bilateral cooperation between the Sri Lanka National Cadet Corps and the Indian National Cadet Corps.
These three agreements were exchanged by Deputy Minister of Defence, retired Major General Aruna Jayasekara, and Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also participated online in the ceremony held to open three Bailey bridges constructed in the Kurunegala and Batticaloa districts with the assistance of the Indian Government.
The Bailey bridges constructed along the Pansiyagama–Kurunegala, Kebellewa–Kurunegala and Palugamam–Batticaloa roads were handed over for public use as part of the reconstruction assistance programme provided by India to restore essential roads following Cyclone Ditwah.
