India likely to gift some military equipment to Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) As a goodwill gesture, India
is expected to gift some military equipment such as
shoulder-fired missiles and radars to Sri Lanka when Defence
Secretary Pradeep Kumar undertakes a two-day visit there from
Monday.
The equipment, part of the assistance provided to Sri
Lanka to fight LTTE, is planned to be gifted apparently to
demonstrate India's efforts to help build the defence
capabilities of the Island nation in the backdrop of Chinese
attempts to make inroads there.
India had provided defence hardware including two
ground-based radars and a large number of Russian
shoulder-fired IGLA ground-to-air missiles to Sri Lanka on a
temporary basis, sources said.
India had also lent a Coast Guard vessel to Sri Lankan
Navy during the war but it was not clear whether this would
also be gifted.
Some IAF personnel were also deployed there to operate
the systems, which were meant only for helping the Sri Lankan
armed forces in defending their bases and not for offensive
roles, they added.
Kumar, who will hold talks with his counterpart
Gotabhaya Rajapakse, is also likely to discuss the future
defence requirements of the Sri Lankan armed forces.
The visit comes soon after Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal
Verma travelled to Colombo to take part in the 60th
anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lankan Navy.
The delegation will include senior officers from the
three services and the coast guard and is also likely to
discuss ways of increasing service-to-service cooperation
between the two countries. PTI