Colombo, May 1: Air Chief Marshal V.R Chaudhari, Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force, arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport on 1 May on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force.
Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Air Force and Deputy High Commissioner of India, Mr. Vinod K. Jacob warmly welcomed Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on his arrival.
During the visit, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari is scheduled to make courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and have meetings with the Minister of State for Defense, Defense Secretary, Chief of Defense Staff and Service Commanders.
The visit symbolizes strong relations and close cooperation between the two friendly neighbors, with Sri Lanka being accorded the status of ‘Priority One’ partner by India.
Underlining the strong bonds of friendship between the two services, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari would be laying the foundation stone for India- Sri Lanka Friendship Auditorium at Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, Trincomalee under the 250 million LKR Grant assistance by Government of India in line with India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy.
As part of GOI’s commitment towards capacity building of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, the Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force would be presenting AN-32 propellers to ensure high operational readiness of the aircraft held with Sri Lanka Air Force.
He would also be interacting with students at the prestigious National Defense College, Sri Lanka and would give some teaching aids.
In February 2021, at the invitation of Commander, Sri Lanka Air Force, a twenty two Aircraft contingent of the Indian Air Force had participated in the 70th Anniversary celebrations of Sri Lanka Air Force.
In addition, Indian Air Force has been the first responder by deploying its assets expeditiously for providing 12T medical supplies in May 2020 and 100T Nano Fertilisers in November 2021.
The visit of Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force would strengthen the existing relations between the two countries and facilitate discussions on common security challenges and enhancing capacity and capability building initiatives towards ensuring Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), as propounded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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