High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

The Indian Armed Forces are key partners in professional career development of Officers, soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. This valuable training engagement has a history of over 4 decades and has seen progressive improvement in the recent past. There have been difficulties in training Sri Lankan military personnel in some training facilities in India. 

Two officers who were following the Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) in Wellington, India returned to the island prematurely. Due to some security concerns the Indian Government had offered to transfer these two officers from DSSC Wellington to Higher Defence Management Course (HDMC) in the College of Defence Management, Secundrabad. Higher Defence Management Course normally followed by senior officers in the rank of Colonel is a higher course in scope. 

The Sri Lankan authorities whilst appreciating this offer kindly declined as it was observed that the HDMC was not in line with the initial purpose of sending these two officers for training in India. Moreover, a higher course with an entirely different scope would neither benefit the officers nor the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in immediate future employment of these officers. Hence, the Sri Lankan Government made a request to withdraw the two officers from DSSC course and accordingly they returned to the island this morning (25 June 2013). 

Further, it is reiterated that this withdrawal does not in any way hamper the growing relationship and training partnership between the Armed Forces of India and Sri Lanka.  

Ministry of Defence and Urban Development

Colombo, 25 June 2013