COLOMBO — India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, is expected to visit Sri Lanka next week for talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in what would be the most senior Indian defence visit to the island since the two countries signed their first formal defence cooperation agreement last year.
Mr. Singh is also expected to meet Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, the secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence, according to people familiar with preparations for the visit. Mr. Dissanayake, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, holds the defence portfolio.
The talks are expected to focus on putting the defence agreement into practice and expanding cooperation in military training, joint exercises and capacity-building, as well as addressing maritime and regional security concerns, the people said. The Indian government has not yet announced dates or a programme for the visit.
The trip comes as New Delhi and Colombo seek to place a longstanding military relationship on a more formal footing, at a time when security in the Indian Ocean has assumed greater strategic importance for both countries.
The two governments signed an umbrella agreement on defence cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025. Indian officials said at the time that the agreement was intended to give greater structure to cooperation that already existed, rather than establish a new security relationship.
The agreement covers high-level military exchanges, joint exercises, capacity-building, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, increased visits by naval vessels and the exploration of cooperation between the two countries’ defence industries.
Much of that cooperation is already under way. The two armies conduct the bilateral Mitra Shakti exercise, while their navies hold SLINEX. India has also trained Sri Lankan military personnel for years. According to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Mitra Shakti was most recently held in India in November 2025 and SLINEX in Colombo in August 2025. The two countries’ defence secretaries also meet through an annual Defence Dialogue.
Sri Lanka’s position immediately south of India and astride some of the Indian Ocean’s busiest shipping routes has made maritime security an increasingly important part of the relationship.
A Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, built with $6 million in Indian grant assistance, was commissioned in 2024. India also deployed a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka from August 2022 until August 2025, strengthening the island’s capacity to monitor its surrounding waters.
The closer defence relationship has developed alongside a broader effort by India to safeguard its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean, where China has expanded its economic and maritime presence. Sri Lanka, which has extensive economic ties with China while sharing deep geographical, economic and security links with India, has long sought to balance relations with the two Asian powers.
Security was a prominent theme when Mr. Dissanayake travelled to India in December 2024, his first overseas visit after becoming president. During the visit, he assured India that Sri Lankan territory would not be permitted to be used in a manner detrimental to India’s security.
Mr. Modi visited Colombo four months later, when the two countries signed the defence cooperation agreement. Indian officials subsequently described the security understanding reached during Mr. Dissanayake’s New Delhi visit as part of the groundwork for the agreement.
Mr. Singh’s expected visit would give the two governments their first high-level opportunity since then to assess how that framework is being translated into practical defence cooperation, while discussing the wider security environment in the Indian Ocean.
