NEW DELHI: Continuing the series of high-level bilateral military engagements, General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 1–2 December 2025.

The visit, the Indian Army said, takes place amid strong strategic convergence between India and Sri Lanka. “The upcoming visit aims to reinforce India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy by emphasising partnership, stability and cooperation with Sri Lanka,” the Army said on Tuesday.

The Army added that the visit underscores India’s role as a reliable security partner, committed to supporting Sri Lanka in capability-building and capacity enhancement across multiple defence domains.

According to the Army, the visit is expected to deepen Army-to-Army engagement through expanded opportunities for training, professional exchanges, joint exercises and discussions on operational best practices.

The COAS’s meetings with the Sri Lankan political and military leadership will also facilitate an exchange of views on emerging regional and global security challenges, particularly at a time when the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) face new and evolving strategic pressures.

The visit marks an important moment in the trajectory of India–Sri Lanka defence cooperation. It follows a consistent pattern of high-level military engagements that have fostered trust and operational familiarity between the two nations.

Previous visits by Indian Chiefs, such as General M.M. Naravane’s official trip to Sri Lanka in 2021—during which he held extensive discussions with the country’s leadership and witnessed the joint Exercise Mitra Shakti—have laid a strong foundation for continued cooperation.

India’s engagement has also been strengthened through cross-service interactions, including the visit of Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff, to Sri Lanka in September 2025, which highlighted the expanding maritime cooperation between the two countries.

These engagements have been mirrored by reciprocal visits from senior Sri Lankan military leaders to India, most notably the official visit of Lieutenant General B.K.G.M. Lasantha Rodrigo, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, in June 2025.

During this visit, he returned to the Indian Military Academy (IMA) as the Reviewing Officer for the Passing Out Parade. Before him, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage’s visit in 2023 reflected Sri Lanka’s continued emphasis on maintaining close professional ties with India.