In addition to the assistance provided in various areas including the training of soldiers, President Rajapaksa agreed to look into other requests and assist Maldives in whatever possible manner.

While thanking Sri Lanka for its support in developing Maldives’ defence sector, Col. Nazim appreciated Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s contribution. As two countries located in the Indian Ocean, this kind of cooperation will not only help each other but it will also help maintain stability in the region, Col. Nazim said.

The Defence Minister outlined some of the areas with which Maldives hopes Sri Lanka could assist, including search and rescue operations in the sea, disaster management, preventing sea pollution, education and training for Maldives soldiers at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy, provision of health facilities in defence services, conducting medical camps for soldiers, assisting with maintaining security in its maritime zone and cooperation between intelligence services.

Col. Nazim further said that Maldives has formed a special unit to protect the country from certain international forces attempting to destabilize nations. The Defence Minister requested Sri Lanka’s assistance in providing air combat training for this unit, to which President Rajapaksa agreed. The Defence Minister further requested to explore the possibility of Sri Lanka manufacturing boats for the Maldivian coast guard and sought assistance from the Bank of Ceylon to obtain credit facilities for this purpose.

Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake, Monitoring MP of the Ministry of External Affairs Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratne and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Maldives  Dixon Dela Bandara were also present at the discussion.(KH/SI)