The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia and ASEAN, Sashikala Premawardhane, paid a courtesy call on Admiral Muhammad Ali, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, at Wisma Elang Laut, in Jakarta on 10 August 2026. The Ambassador was accorded a ceremonial salute by the Indonesian Navy upon arrival.
The courtesy call was held in a warm and cordial atmosphere and reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and maritime partnership between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Discussions focused on further strengthening bilateral naval cooperation through enhanced institutional engagement, professional exchanges, training opportunities, and collaboration in maritime security and defence.
Ambassador Premawardhane welcomed the growing momentum in Sri Lanka-Indonesia naval relations and expressed appreciation for the successful Navy-to-Navy preparatory meeting held ahead of envisaged Staff Talks, as well as the generous support extended to Sri Lanka Navy cadets under the ASEAN Plus Cadet Sail 2026 programme and the goodwill visit of KRI BimaSuci to Colombo in April this year.
Both sides discussed the proposed Sri Lanka-Indonesia Navy-to-Navy Staff Talks, reciprocal ship visits, training opportunities for Sri Lanka Navy personnel, participation in maritime exercises, and greater interaction between operational and training establishments of the two navies. They also exchanged views on the ongoing Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation between the Ministries of Defence of the two countries and the importance of advancing defence-industrial collaboration, particularly in the areas of naval platforms, maritime technologies and training,
Participation in Exercise Komodo 2027, Indonesia’s premier multinational naval exercise and Galle Dialogue 2027, Sri Lanka’s premier international maritime conference, were identified as important platforms to augment naval cooperation and exchanges.
The meeting also highlighted the forthcoming 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Indonesia in 2027, which was viewed as an important opportunity to elevate bilateral naval and defence cooperation through concrete and mutually beneficial initiatives.
The meeting was attended by senior officers of the Indonesian Navy and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jakarta.
10 August 2026
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Jakarta
