The Indian Coast Guard held a High-Level Meeting with the Sri Lanka Coast Guard at Coast Guard Headquarters here in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Indian side was led by K Natarajan, Director General of Coast Guard while the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by Rear Admiral Samantha Wimalathunge. The high level meeting took place under the provisions of the MoU signed between the both sides for the establishment of a collaborative relationship to combat transnational illegal activities at sea and to develop regional co-operation.
The four-member delegation of Sri Lanka Coast Guard is paying five days official visit to India from August 19. According to a press release, during the meeting, both sides agreed to strengthen co-operation in addressing a spectrum of maritime issues concerning safety and security.
The apprehension of two fishing boats by Sri Lanka involved in drug trafficking based on the information exchange undertaken by Indian Coast Guard invoking the MoU was recognised as an important enabler for pursuing further collaborative response to emerging situations at sea. Continued capacity building of Sri Lanka Coast Guard by Indian Coast Guard, training of Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel and mutual co-operation in multilateral forums was discussed and agreed by both sides.
