INS Delhi departs Colombo after 2-day visit

INS Delhi departed Colombo, Sri Lanka, today after a two-day visit to the port city.

During the ship’s stay in the harbor, several interactions including cross-training of personnel in various topics of mutual interest were held between the ship’s crew and personnel from the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN). A clean-up drive at Crow Island beach was jointly undertaken by the visiting ship’s crew and personnel from SLN. The ship also conducted a familiarization tour onboard for over 200 NCC cadets and 500 other local visitors.

The Commanding Officer of INS Delhi interacted with Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva, Commander, Western Naval Area, and paid homage at the IPKF memorial by laying a wreath in honor of the Indian soldiers who laid their lives in Sri Lanka during IPKF operations during 1987-91.

As part of India’s ‘Aarogya Maitri’ initiative to provide essential medical supplies to friendly countries, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay presented state-of-the-art Arogya Maitri Cube to the Sri Lanka Parliament Speaker during a reception hosted onboard INS Delhi. These medical cubes have been indigenously developed under the Project BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri).

Besides the Speaker, the reception was attended by several senior government officials, including the Minister for Ports, Shipping & Aviation, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defence, and all three service Chiefs.