Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia strengthen defence ties

A bilateral meeting was held between Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd.), and Prince Abdulrahman bin Ayyaf Al-Muqrin, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the Saudi Defence Ministry in Riyadh.

The meeting took place during Deputy Minister Jayasekara’s official visit to the World Defense Show (WDS) in Saudi Arabia.

During the discussions, both parties reaffirmed the cordial and friendly bilateral relations and explored opportunities to further strengthen defence cooperation. The Sri Lankan delegation acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s long-standing support and sought continued assistance in expanding military training, professional exchanges, and structured knowledge-sharing initiatives between the armed forces of the two countries.

The meeting also addressed strategic concerns including Maritime Domain Awareness, maritime security, and transnational threats such as drug trafficking and smuggling. Both sides agreed on the need for closer bilateral coordination and information sharing to effectively combat these challenges.

Emerging defence technologies and evolving operational concepts, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), intelligence systems, and surveillance capabilities, were also discussed, highlighting the importance of keeping pace with modern technological advancements in the sector.

The possibility of organizing bilateral Defence Talks or Staff Talks and implementing structured capacity-building programmes was considered to institutionalize defence cooperation. Cooperation in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance was another key focus, with both sides emphasizing coordinated responses and operational preparedness among their Tri Forces.