Indian Army’s Chief of Army Staff, General Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM AVSM YSM ADC, now on a five-day goodwill visit to Sri Lanka, called on HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees Monday (6) morning after he met his Sri Lanka’s counterpart, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya at the Army Headquarters.
General Vijay Kumar Singh, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army with his five-member delegation, comprised of his spouse, Mrs Bharti Singh, President, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), Major General Harminderjit Singh Sachdev SM, General Officer Commanding, Infantry Division, Brigadier Jatinder Pal Singh, Military Assistant and Mrs Aravinder Kaur, arrived in Sri Lanka Sunday (5) evening following an invitation, extended by Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army.
The visiting Indian Army Chief on arrival at the Army Headquarters was warmly received by Lieutenant Colonel Sunil Ariyaratne, Commanding Officer, Headquarters Battalion at Army Headquarters, and invited to inspect the Guard Turn Out at the entrance to the premises, in accordance with military traditions.
Minutes after the inspection, the visiting Indian Army Chief was conducted to the saluting dais by Major General R M D Ratnayake, Chief of Staff and Colonel of Sri Lanka Light Infantry Regiment (SLLI), to receive the salute in the Guard of Honour, provided by SLLI soldiers.
The caparisoned seven years old, ‘Kandula’ mascot of the SLLI Regiment added special colour and attraction to the occasion, as it too joined saluting soldiers in the Guard of Honour with its trunk up, to match with commands.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army, awaiting the visiting Chief Guest’s arrival at the main porch, afterwards cordially welcomed him, as the clock struck precisely 9.17 a.m., and conducted him to his office after introducing General Vijay Kumar Singh to his Principal Staff Officers at Army Headquarters.
Cordial discussions that ensued afterwards between both Army Chiefs at Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya’s office centered largely on military matters of mutual and regional interest and possibilities for sharing experience and strategies in the successful Wanni Humanitarian Operations against separatist terrorists.
The meeting also explored avenues of receiving more and more training opportunities for Sri Lankan officers in India, in addition to ongoing training programmes.
Lieutenant General Jayasuriya and General Vijay Kumar Singh during discussions also focused on reviving the old practice of exchanging sport programmes between the two organizations as it occurred in the past, since such approaches would further help broaden bilateral understanding and goodwill among officers.
Towards the end of the interaction, Lieutenant General Jayasuriya presented a special memento to General Vijay Singh, Chief of Army Staff after he symbolically placed his signature on the VIP book at Commander’s office. General Vijay Kumar Singh reciprocated and offered his sincere thanks to the Sri Lankan counterpart before he left the Army Headquarters to attend the remainder of the day’s itinerary.
Meanwhile, the visiting General Vijay Kumar Singh, accompanied by Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, paid a courtesy call on HE, the President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning (6) at Temple Trees. The visiting Army Chief extended his warm greetings to the President and expressed his pleasure over efforts, being launched to bring prosperity to the country by the government of Sri Lanka after restoring peace in the island. As a token of memory, the visiting Indian Army Chief presented a special memento to HE the President. He also reciprocated gifting another valuable souvenir to the visiting Army Chief.
Later on, the visiting Army Chief arrived at Visumpaya to call on Hon Prime Minister D M Jayaratne where both of them had a brief exchange of views on matters of bilateral concern.
The next stop for the visiting Indian Army Chief was the Ministry of Defence. Secretary Defence Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa warmly received the visiting Indian Chief of Army Staff, accompanied by Commander of the Army. A brief discussion on matters of international importance and strategic relevance between Mr Rajapaksa and General Vijay Kumar Singh followed afterwards during their formal interaction at the office of the Secretary Defence where exchange of mementos took place. The visiting Army Chief gave an enthusiastic hearing to the Secretary Defence as he narrated the recent story to victory against terrorism.
During the latter part of the day, the visiting Indian Chief also called on Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Air Force and Vice Admiral Tisara Samarasinghe, Commander of the Navy where they exchanged views on security matters of regional and other interests. Later on, the visiting Army dignitary with his Sri Lankan counterpart paid a courtesy call on Hon Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris at Ministry of External Affairs.
As the last item of the day’s agenda, the visiting Indian Army Chief paid a visit to the special cenotaph at Battaramulla, erected in honour of the fallen Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) troops while serving Sri Lanka during 1987 – 1989. The monument immortalized the memory of those who had made the supreme sacrifice for restoration of peace in another nation.
The solemn and moving moment was dignified with the presence of the visiting General Vijay Singh as he laid floral wreaths at the foot of the memorial. Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya afterwards placed a floral wreath and honoured them. Other visiting Indian Army officers followed suit. As the Last Post reverberated, the memorial service came to an end.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army, received the Indian Chief of Army Staff General Vijay Singh and his delegation on arrival at the site of the monument.
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