SRI LANKA COAST GUARD HOSTED 5TH INDIAN COAST GUARD-SRI LANKA COAST GUARD HIGH LEVEL MEETING VIRTUALLY

Sri Lanka Coast Guard hosted 5th Indian Coast Guard- Sri Lanka Coast Guard High Level Meeting on 22^nd June 2021 in virtual platform from Coast Guard Headquarters. The Director General Sri Lanka Coast Guard Rear Admiral Anura Ekanayake led the SLCG delegation. A high-level delegation led by the Director General of Indian Coast Guard Krishnaswamy Natarajan with representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, India and High Commission of Sri Lanka in India attended representing India.

This apex level meeting commenced in 2015 and the inaugural High-level meeting held in 8^th to 10^th September 2015 in Sri Lanka. The 5th HLM Meeting was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in 2020, and has been postponed due Covid 19 pandemic.

This edition of the meeting provided an excellent forum to discuss the continuation of the various collaborations held between the coast guards of two countries on maritime security, maritime safety of the region and the issues of mutual concerns.

Further, both coast guard assured strengthening the operational level interaction for search and rescue, preservation & protection of marine environment, information sharing to deter narcotics trafficking by sea, continuous professional engagement for experience sharing and revalidated the established operational & communication procedures between the two coast guards.