Sri Lanka, Sudan discuss military cooperation

August 26, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese military delegation is visiting Sri Lanka to discuss joint military cooperation between the armed institutions of the two countries.

The Sudanese delegation led by the former secretary general of defence ministry Gen. (Retd) Abdel- Rahman Mohamed Zein was received on Monday by Sri Lanka’s Secretary Defence and Urban Development, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The two sides discussed “areas of mutual interest and bilateral relations”, said the official website of Sri Lankan defense ministry.

Rajapaksa visited Khartoum in August 2012 where he discussed with the Sudanese defence minister Abdel Rahim Hussein ways to cooperate between Sudanese and Sri Lankan military training institutes in order to share expertise and knowledge.

Hussein and Rajapaksa last year signed a memorandum of understanding for bilateral cooperation in the field of training.

The Sudanese delegation visited Sri Lankan military training institutes for exploring further training opportunities.

During his visit to Sudan, Sri Lankan official delivered a lecture at the military college in Khartoum on “Sri Lankan Experience in Defeating Terrorism and Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation”.

In 2009, the Sri Lankan army defeated militarily the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The local authorities accused at the time India and Western countries of supporting the Tamil Tigers.

(ST)