India to remain Sri Lanka's most reliable friend; offers modern defence equipment
India on Wednesday said it is and will remain Colombo's most reliable friend and dependable partner as it underlined that New Delhi was willing to offer modern defence equipment to friendly partner countries like Sri Lanka. Addressing the Second India-Sri Lanka Defence Seminar here, India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, said that like in other areas, India and Sri Lanka were cooperating closely on security and defence matters.
«Because of our geography, our security is interlinked and intertwined. And when we speak of security, we must remember that it has acquired a wider meaning than we have traditionally associated with it,» Jha said and added, after the Covid19 pandemic and impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict, it has come to include energy, health, food and even economic security.
The various advanced platforms and equipment developed indigenously in India can also become viable, affordable and modern solutions for the Sri Lankan military, he said.
«Our support in recent years to Sri Lanka, during the Covid pandemic and the economic crisis, was driven by our sense of responsibility and obligation for our closest friend and neighbour. We stood shoulder to shoulder with our civilisational twin when it was needed most and without any hesitation,» he said, referring to the more than USD four billion in economic assistance extended to the country during its unprecedented economic turmoil.
«Many of you will agree that India is and will remain Sri Lanka'smost reliable friend and a trusted and
