India, Sri Lanka hold army-to-army talks

COLOMBO: The armies of India and Sri Lanka today began three-day talks aimed at fostering better understanding between the two militaries.

The annual Army-to-Army Staff Talks ( AAST) are being held for the sixth consecutive year.

This is part of ever-increasing bilateral military cooperation and understanding with special focus on exchange of training modules, infrastructure improvement, knowledge on technical aspects and welfare programmes.

The talks are being led by Major General Sanjaya Thapa of the Indian Army and Major General A P de Z Wickramaratna of the Sri Lanka Army.

The four-member Indian delegation during conference sessions would evaluate the progress of already implemented matters of interest between the two organisations and plan the course of intended action during the coming year.

The AAST, a novel feature was founded in the year 2012 in New Delhi with an objective of fostering better relations between both Armies.