Pakistan Defence Secretary arrives in Sri Lanka

Colombo, July 02 (Daily Mirror) - Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan, Lieutenant General (Retd) Muhammad Ali, arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday for an official visit to participate in the 6th Pakistan–Sri Lanka Armed Forces Defence Dialogue.

The visiting Defence Secretary and his delegation were welcomed at Bandaranaike International Airport by Additional Secretary (Administration) of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence, Harsha Vithanaarachchi, along with senior officers of the Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Navy and officials from the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka.

The high-level defence dialogue is scheduled to begin at the Navy Headquarters within the Defence Headquarters Complex in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte on Friday.

The discussions are expected to review the progress of ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries and explore matters of mutual interest, including regional security, military collaboration, defence training, and opportunities to further strengthen the longstanding defence partnership between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

During his official visit, Lieutenant General (Retd) Muhammad Ali is also scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara, and Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Sampath Thuyacontha.