(Press Release)
May 4, 2025
Japan Ministry of Defense
１．Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
On May 4, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. local time, Defense Minister Nakatani paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of SriLanka, H.E. Ms. Amarasuriya in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes.
(1) At the outset, Minister Nakatani and Prime Minister Amarasuriya welcomed the progress of defense cooperation between the two nations under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and Exchange, signed in 2019 based on the comprehensive partnership between Japan and SriLanka.
(2) Both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and trengthening a free and open maritime order based on the rules of law, in light of increasingly complex and unpredictable regional and global security environment. They also expressed their shared commitment to enhancing the bilateral defense partnership to contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
２．Meeting with the Deputy Minister of Defense of Sri Lanka
On May 4, 2025, at 9:40 a.m. local time, Minister Nakatani held a meeting with Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Mr. Jayasekara in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The discussion lasted approximately 60 minutes.
(1) At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Nakatani and Deputy Minister Jayasekara agreed that, in light of the increasingly complex and unpredictable regional and global security environment, it is essential to further strengthen the bilateral partnership, particularly in the field of defense, for the prosperity of both nations and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
(2) Both sides exchanged views on regional security situations including developments in the East China and South China Seas, and Minister Nakatani explained that there are serious concerns regarding unilateral attempts to change the status quo.
(3) Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation and coordination across all units—land, maritime, and air—to promote inter-service collaboration and elevate bilateral defense ties to a higher level. Specifically, both sides agreed to the following;
- About the ground forces, JGSDF will invite Sri Lanka as an observer to several practical disaster management exercises in Japan and to engage in mutual knowledge-sharing on disaster response.
- About the naval forces, both sides will organize a seminar on the Law of the Sea during upcoming port calls by JMSDF’s vessel.
- About the air forces, both sides will expand operational knowledge-sharing through new capacity building support, focusing on air rescue and aeromedical transport.
(4) Furthermore, both sides agreed to initiate a new framework for multilayered personnel exchanges. This will include the mutual exchange of future defense leaders and the dispatch of lecturers in areas such as peacekeeping operations (PKO), with the goal of strengthening the foundation of mutual understanding between the defense establishments of both countries.