30^th IMBL meeting held onboard SLNS Sayurala

The annual International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between the representatives of navies of both India and Sri Lanka held onboard SLNS Sayurala at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Kankesanthurai on 24^th May 2019.

The Sri Lankan delegation headed by Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Merril Wickramasinghe also included Deputy Area Commander (North Central Naval Area), Commodore Sanath Uthpala, Director Naval Operations, Commodore Sanjeewa Dias, Defence Advisor to Sri Lankan High Commission in India, Commodore Suresh De Silva and Deputy Director General Coast Guard, Commodore YMGB Jayathilaka.

Meanwhile, the Indian delegation was headed by Flag Officer Tamil Nadu Area (FOTNA) Rear Admiral KJ Kumar. Defence Advisor to the High Commission of India in Colombo Captain Ashok Rao, and other distinguished guests from both parties also took part in the event.

The IMBL meeting is held to strengthen relationship and operational readiness between the navies and Coast Guard personnel of two neighboring countries.

During its 30^th sitting, matters related to optimization of patrolling in Indian region by the Indian authorities, educating Indian fishermen by the Indian authorities on minimizing illegal practices, establishing of a proper communication network between both the parties for minimizing of smuggling activities in the region and introduction of an Information sharing mechanism between two countries were discussed at length. Mementoes were also exchanged to mark the significance of this occasion.