Navy officials meet Indian counterparts

Senior officials of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard met their counterparts from Sri Lanka on board a navy patrol vessel near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) recently and discussed operative effectiveness of the forces.

While the Indian team was led by Commodore Alok Bhatnagar, Naval Officer In-charge (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry), the Sri Lankan team was headed by Rear Admiral Piyal De Silva, Commander Northern Naval Area, The Hindu newspaper reported.

The 25th International Maritime Boundary Line meeting happened on board naval patrol vessel INS Savitri off Kankesanthurai coast off Sri Lanka, sources said.

The meeting between the Indian and Sri Lankan authorities were said to be routine to discuss issues of mutual interest and movement of vessels across the IMBL.

Another Indian team consisting of three faculty members from New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University led by Professor Bupinder Zutshi met Vice-Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne in Colombo. They had discussed on the possibility of granting B. Tech degrees for Sri Lankan technical officers from JNU.