Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari has arrived in the island today (May 01) on a 4-day official visit on the invitation of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, the SLAF Media Unit said.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport on 1 May on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force.
Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Air Force and Deputy High Commissioner of India, Mr. Vinod K. Jacob warmly welcomed Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on his arrival.
During the visit, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari is scheduled to make courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and have meetings with Minister of State for Defence, Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff and Service Commanders.
“The visit symbolises strong relations and close cooperation between the two friendly neighbours, with Sri Lanka being accorded the status of ‘Priority One’ partner by India,” the Indian High Commission said.
Underlining the strong bonds of friendship between the two services, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari would be laying the foundation stone for India- Sri Lanka Friendship Auditorium at Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, Trincomalee under 250 Million LKR Grant assistance by Government of India (GOI), in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the statement said.
As part of GOI’s commitment towards capacity building of Sri Lanka Armed Forces, Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force would be presenting AN-32 propellers to ensure high operational readiness of the aircraft held with Sri Lanka Air Force, it said.
He would also be interacting with students at the prestigious National Defence College, Sri Lanka and the Air Force Academy, China Bay, wherein training aids for the students would be gifted.
The visit of Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force is expected to strengthen the existing relations between the two countries and facilitate discussions on common security challenges and enhancing capacity and capability building initiatives towards ensuring Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), as propounded by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
