The Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard held a high-level meeting in New Delhi to discuss maritime issues of mutual concern and formulate a cooperative approach to them.

The Indian delegation to the talks was led by the Director General of Indian Coast guard, Vice Admiral Anurag G. Thapliyal while the Sri Lankan delegation was led by Director General Sri Lankan Coast Guard (SLCG) Rear Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne.

Admiral Wijegunaratne is on a four-day visit to India at the head of a three-member delegation as part of the efforts by the governments of the two countries for cooperation between their Coast Guards.

The focus of the meeting was on further strengthening the operational level interaction for search and rescue, preservation and protection of maritime environment, and revalidating standard operating procedures and communication procedures between the two Coast Guards.

During the visit, the Sri Lankan Coast Guard delegation also called on the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan and Defence Secretary R K Mathur and deliberated on issues of common maritime interests.

During the high level discussions, it was mutually agreed to strengthen the cooperation on evolving collaborative approach, in addressing a spectrum of maritime issues concerning safety and security and further streamlining the procedure for release/ repatriation of fishermen, an official press release added, NNN reports.