Maldives and Sri Lanka have held discussions on enhancing defence and security cooperation.
The discussions were held during a meeting between Minister of Defence of the Maldives Mariya Ahmed Didi and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa. The meeting was held during the defence minister’s official trip to Sri Lanka to take part in the 4th National Security Advisor (NSA) Level Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation.
During the meeting, Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi conveyed the gratitude of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the people of the Maldives to the government of Sri Lanka for the continued assistance provided to the Maldives. Discussions during the meeting focused on boosting defence and security cooperation between the two countries, as well as COVID-19 safety measures.
During the trip, Defence Minister Mariya also met with the Secretary General of Defence of Sri Lanka Major General Retired Kamal Gunaratne. The discussions during this meeting also focused on boosting defence cooperation between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, especially in intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, counter-radicalisation and anti-drug smuggling efforts.
The 4th NSA Level Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation was held from November 27-28 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The meeting, which was held after a hiatus of 6 years, was a forum for discussions on the most pressing issues surrounding maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with Bangladesh, Mauritius and Seychelles among the observer states.
The meeting was concluded with the official signing of minutes by Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Major General Retired Kamal Gunaratne and National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval.