Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne , chief of the Sri Lankan Navy, on Saturday reviewed the Passing out Parade (POP) of Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala.
In the POP, 272 cadets of Indian Navy, 66 cadets of Indian Coast Guard and two International cadets - one each from Benin and Tanzania - successfully completed their training.
The presence of the Sri Lankan Naval Chief marked a new chapter in consolidating strong bilateral naval relations between the two countries and to explore new avenues for maritime cooperation.
Maritime relationship between India and Sri Lanka has been traditionally strong. There have been various bilateral exercises, training, port calls, hydrographic co-operation, capability building and capacity augmentation initiatives.
Two Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels (AOPVs) are presently in their final stages of construction for the Sri Lankan Navy at M/s Goa Shipyard Limited.
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Darshak, a survey ship, also recently completed a two-month survey deployment off Sri Lanka.
Vice Admiral Wijegunaratne, following the ceremonial review, awarded medals to nine meritorious cadets. In his address, he congratulated the passing out cadets and urged them to constantly challenge their physical and mental limits to be a successful naval officer.