Indian Defence Secretary in Lanka to strengthen cooperation

Colombo, Dec 27 (PTI) India and Sri Lanka will discuss
strengthening cooperation in the field of defence in the post-
LTTE scenario when Indian Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar
holds talks with the country's top leadership during his visit
here.
Kumar arrived here on Monday for a three-day visit
during which he will also pay homage to the Indian
peacekeepers who laid their lives during the Sri Lankan civil
war.
India is also expected to gift some military equipment
such as shoulder-fired missiles and radars to its southern
neighbour during the visit.
Kumar is expected to hold talks with President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, External Affairs minister G L Peiris, Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapksha during his stay in Sri Lanka, a
diplomatic official told PTI.
The top defence official will also pay tributes to the
Indian Peace Keeping Forces' 1200 soldiers killed in the
island's north and east during battles with the LTTE in the
late 80's.
India provided military assistance to the Sri Lankan
government during the war.
The Tamil Tiger rebels' outfit was eliminated
militarily by the Sri Lankan forces last year.
India is also expected to gift some military equipment
to Sri Lanka as a goodwill gesture.
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 is not clear whether this too shall
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 Indian 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