"India stands committed to helping Sri Lanka in capacity building in line with India's neighborhood-first policy. Accordingly, India continued to offer training for Sri Lanka's armed forces even in challenging times," said Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay.
He was speaking at an event organized in honor of the Sri Lankan army officers trained by the Indian army training institutes.
The dignitaries at the event included the chief of defense staff of Sri Lanka, Gen. Shavendra Silva, and the commander of the Sri Lanka army Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage.
Addressing the gathering, Gen. Silva said that India has always been a pillar of strength in training Sri Lankan armed forces.
Training is considered the strongest pillar of bilateral defense cooperation between India and Sri Lanka. Indian defense forces' training institutes offer training for about 1500 Sri Lankan personnel annually under the "Special Aid program" of the government of India.