COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India will stand by Sri Lanka whenever it faces a crisis, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday as he began a three-day visit focused on expanding defence and security ties.
“India will always stand firmly with Sri Lanka whenever the island nation faces a crisis,” Mr. Singh told members of the Indian community in Colombo, according to India’s Ministry of Defence.
Mr. Singh is scheduled to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also holds the defence portfolio, on Wednesday at the Presidential Secretariat. The countries are expected to sign three agreements covering military education, cadet exchanges and maintenance of Sri Lankan air-defence guns.
The agreements would follow a five-year defence cooperation memorandum signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025.
Mr. Singh’s visit is the first by an Indian defence minister to Sri Lanka since 1988, when K.C. Pant travelled to the island during the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force.
India and Sri Lanka have expanded military training, maritime surveillance and other security cooperation in recent years. The relationship has gained strategic importance for New Delhi as China has strengthened its economic and maritime presence across the Indian Ocean, including in Sri Lanka.
Addressing the Indian community, Mr. Singh also highlighted India’s economic growth and defence industry. He said the economy had grown to about $4 trillion, citing increases in manufacturing, exports, infrastructure investment and digital services.
He said annual defence exports had risen from about 6 billion rupees roughly 12 years ago to around 390 billion rupees, as India seeks to reduce its dependence on imported military equipment.
Mr. Singh credited Mr. Modi’s government with raising India’s international standing and said the country was increasingly being heard in global affairs. He described the Indian community in Sri Lanka as an important link between the countries, whose ties extend to trade, development assistance and cultural relations.
Among those attending were Sri Lankan cabinet minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Western Province Governor Hanif Yusoof, Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep and India’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha.
Sri Lanka lies just off India’s southern coast and near major Indian Ocean shipping routes. Successive governments in Colombo have sought to maintain close relations with India while cultivating extensive economic ties with China.
India provided billions of dollars in credit lines and other assistance during Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022 and has continued to support infrastructure and development projects on the island.
Mr. Singh’s visit continues through Thursday.
