India seeks to strengthen Sri Lanka's military capability amid growing defence partnership

India is seeking to enhance the military capability of neighbouring Sri Lanka by exploring new avenues of cooperation under a growing strategic partnership.

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Lieutenant General BKGML Rodrigo, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, is on a four-day official visit to India from June 11 to June 14.

The visit comes just two months after India and Sri Lanka signed a comprehensive defence cooperation pact in April, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

In a post on X, the Indian Army said the visit aims to “strengthen bilateral military cooperation, with a focus on training, capability enhancement and identifying new avenues for collaboration.”

The Army described the visit as a significant milestone in the enduring relationship between the two forces, saying it paves the way for a future-ready, robust military partnership rooted in shared values and strategic interests.

India has been a long-standing partner in training Sri Lankan military personnel. At present, around 700 officers and jawans from Sri Lanka are undergoing training at various institutes run by the Ministry of Defence in India, sources said. Notably, Sri Lankan personnel account for nearly 25 per cent of all defence training slots India offers to foreign countries.

The visit of the Sri Lankan Army Commander is also significant as it follows the first-ever India-Sri Lanka Defence Dialogue, held in Colombo last week. During the dialogue, India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met with Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), where both sides reaffirmed their long-term strategic cooperation.

The Sri Lanka-India Defence Dialogue held in Colombo last week resulted in several key outcomes, reinforcing bilateral defence cooperation and maritime security. Both nations are now looking to expand collaboration in the Indian Ocean region, with a focus on joint naval exercises and coastal surveillance.

One of the major points of discussion was the expansion of training and strategic collaboration.

The defence agreement in April between India and Sri Lanka has laid the foundation for institutionalising existing military engagements, for structured cooperation, including potential collaboration in the defence industrial sector.