COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, is preparing to visit Sri Lanka, three years after a planned trip was abruptly deferred, as the two neighbors move to deepen a security partnership that was formalized last year with their first broad agreement on defence cooperation.
The itinerary has not been finalized, and New Delhi has not announced dates for the visit. Mr. Singh is expected to hold talks in Colombo, with a possible stop in Trincomalee.
Preparations are already under way. On Aug. 14, India’s high commissioner in Colombo, Santosh Jha, accompanied by the mission’s defence adviser and deputy defence adviser, met Sri Lanka’s defence secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, to discuss arrangements for the visit.
The trip would be the most senior Indian defence visit to the island since the two governments concluded a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025.
The agreement, which runs for five years, formalized a military relationship that had already grown substantially through training, joint exercises, maritime cooperation and exchanges between the armed forces. Mr. Thuyacontha said after the agreement was concluded that India trains about 750 Sri Lankan military personnel each year.
Mr. Singh had been scheduled to make a two-day visit to Sri Lanka on Sept. 2 and 3, 2023. India announced the trip on Sept. 1 but said later that day that it had been deferred because of “unavoidable circumstances.” No further explanation was given.
The postponement came during a period of heightened sensitivity over visits by Chinese research vessels to Sri Lanka, an issue that had become a recurring concern for India because of the island’s proximity to its southern coast.
Sri Lanka subsequently imposed a one-year moratorium on foreign research vessels entering its waters for research purposes. The restriction took effect in January 2024 and expired at the end of that year.
Trincomalee, on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast, has meanwhile become an increasingly important part of economic and strategic cooperation between Colombo and New Delhi.
During Mr. Modi’s visit last year, India, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates concluded a separate agreement to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub. The proposed development includes a multiproduct pipeline, bunkering facilities, further development of the Second World War-era oil tank farm and the possibility of a refinery.
Sri Lanka has also given India an explicit assurance on its security concerns.
Standing alongside Mr. Modi in Colombo in April 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his government would not permit Sri Lankan territory to be used “in any manner inimical to the security of India” or to regional stability.
Mr. Modi, for his part, has described the security interests of the two countries as interconnected, and the defence agreement was presented by both governments as a way of giving greater structure to an already extensive relationship.
The planned visit also comes as India remains an important economic partner for Sri Lanka during its recovery from the financial collapse of 2022.
Earlier this month, during a visit to Colombo by India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, the two countries exchanged agreements for $350 million in Indian rupee-denominated lines of credit. The financing forms part of a $450 million reconstruction package extended by India.
Mr. Singh’s visit would therefore take place against a broader expansion of ties encompassing defence, energy, infrastructure and economic assistance.
Neither government has announced when the visit will take place. But three years after Mr. Singh’s previous trip was deferred on the day it was announced, preparations for his return are again under way.
