Sri Lanka to downsize army to 135,000 next year

Sri Lanka will reduce the size of the army to 135,000 by 2024 from the current approved number of 200,783, a state minister said here on Friday. The number will be further reduced to 100,000 by 2030, State Minister of Defense Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said in a press release. Tennakoon said that the strength of the military and sustainable economic development are two sides of a coin. He said that military spending indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security. The government has come up with a strategic blueprint to establish a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defense force by the year 2030 to meet future security challenges on a par with the national security needs of the country, he said