Rajnath Singh Visits Sri Lanka - First Indian Defence Minister Visit in Nearly 40 Years

14 September 2026National

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka from 8-10 September 2026 - the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister in nearly 40 years. He called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and met Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya. The two sides signed three MoUs, covering air-defence capability, military education and youth cooperation; under a government grant India will upgrade six 40-mm L70 anti-aircraft guns for the Sri Lankan Air Force, while the others link the two countries' National Defence Colleges and NCCs. The visit followed the Colombo Security Conclave table-top exercise at the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.

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Sri Lanka's legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and commercial capital Colombo; currency Sri Lankan Rupee | Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the President and Harini Amarasuriya the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | India and Sri Lanka are separated by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar

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