Sri Lanka has thanked India for helping to protect the island nationās airspace and the sea including its exclusive economic zone through maritime and coastal surveillance operations. The gratitude towards India came on Wednesday from Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesingheās senior Advisor on National Security Sagala Ratnayaka when he was accepting a successor Indian Navy Dornier aircraft handed over to the Sri Lanka Air Force.
The Donier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft will replace the one which was handed over exactly a year ago to the island nation by the Indian government. The Dornier had to be returned to India for scheduled mandatory maintenance. Following a request by Sri Lanka during a bilateral security discussion on the potential acquisition of maritime surveillance aircraft between India and Sri Lanka in January 2018 in New Delhi, the Donier which was part of the Indian Navy’s fleet was given to Sri Lanka on free of cost for a span of two years.
Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay said that India has remained committed towards capacity building and sustained development of Sri Lanka’s Defence forces, as a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR).