2 Sri Lankan naval ships arrive in Visakhapatnam to participate in SLINEX 2019

Visakhapatnam: Two Sri Lankan naval ships, Sindhurala and Suranimala, arrived here on Saturday to participate in 'SLINEX 2019', the bilateral maritime exercise between India and Sri Lanka.

The seventh edition of the joint drills began on Saturday and will go on till September 12.

The two ships had left from Trincomalee in Sri Lanka for Visakhapatnam Port on Thursday, Colombo Page reported.

The joint drills will see wide-ranging naval exercises between the navies of India and Sri Lanka, including helicopter operations.

"The exercise signifies the desire of both countries to enhance co-operation and to further strengthen mutual trust and interoperability between the two navies," Sri Lankan Navy was quoted by Colombo Page as saying.

"Further, it will enable both navies to rehearse and improve own capabilities and enhance operational effectiveness required to maintain maritime security in the Indian Ocean region," it said.