Colombo

India and Sri Lanka explored ways to further expand their bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of maritime security, the island nation's defence ministry said.

The deliberations took place at the Sri Lanka-India Defence Dialogue held in Colombo on Thursday.

It was the first high-level meeting after India and Sri Lanka signed the first ever defence partnership on April 5.

A statement from the Defence Ministry said that the Sri Lankan delegation was led by Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), while the visiting Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh led the Indian delegation.

“The high-level dialogue focused on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing maritime security, and exploring new avenues for collaboration in training and strategic engagement,” the statement said.

Senior officials from both sides participated in the discussions, reaffirming the longstanding defence partnership between Sri Lanka and India, it said.

The Indian Defence Secretary also met the Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) and Thuyacontha separately.

On April 5, India and Sri Lanka signed the first-ever defence partnership agreement -- firmed up during talks between visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake -- signalling a major boost the the bilateral defence ties nearly four decades after the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s intervention in the island nation strained the relations.

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The agreement will institutionalise the existing military engagement and pave the way for more structured cooperation including potential collaboration in the defence industrial sector, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had said then.