SL military will be right-sized gradually: State Defence Minister

The Sri Lankan military will be right-sized gradually and afterwards it will be set up for their classic role, the State Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon stated during a cordial discussion held with Ms. Afreen Akhter, the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs) of the U.S. Department of State.

Responding to steps taken concerning defence reforms, he expressed these remarks to Deputy Assistant Secretary Akhter during a meeting held at his office in Colombo on Monday. 

Recalling supportive measures extended by the government of the U.S., State Minister Tennakoon also discussed avenues accessible to strengthen military-to-military and further defence cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement from Defence Ministry. 

The bilateral discussion also included U.S. efforts to assist Sri Lanka in enhancing maritime domain awareness and maritime security and also Sri Lanka’s efforts to put forward maritime security and other regional issues in the defence policy, the statement added.