A delegation led by Assistant Secretary North and South Asia of the Australian Department of Defence meets State Minister of Defence

The Assistant Secretary North and South Asia of the Australian Department of Defence, Ms. Karen Radford, met State Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at his office in Colombo on 30th July 2024.

Australian delegation comprised the Assistant Director Mr. Lachlan Sillar, Policy Officer Mr. Noah Diamantopoulos and they were accompanied by the Defence Advisor of the Australian High Commission in Colombo Colonel Amanda Johnston. The delegation members were warmly received by Hon. State Minister of Defence, before they held cordial discussions.

During the discussions, Ms. Karen Radford mentioned that the government of Australia will provide capacity building assistance in the development of hydrography in Sri Lanka. Further, she announced that a shallow-water multi-beam echo sounder will be provided to augment Sri Lanka's hydrographic capabilities as the first step of such capacity building initiatives. The discussions continued on the settings for the conduct of inaugural ‘Defence Talks’ between Sri Lanka (Ministry of Defence) and Australia (Department of Defence) as well.

This interaction also focused on a wide ranging issues such as; defence relations between two countries, strategic outlook in Indian Ocean region, shared security challenges and partnership opportunities.

Photo courtesy: MOD Media