INS Delhi departed Colombo, Sri Lanka on 03 September 2023, after a two-day visit to the port city.

During the ship’s stay in harbour, 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 an familiarisation tour onboard for over 200 NCC cadets and 500 other local visitors.

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

As part of India’s ‘Aarogya Maitri’ initiative to provide essential medical supplies to friendly countries, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Shri Gopal Baglay, presented state-of-the-art Arogya Maitri Cube to the Hon’ble Speaker of Sri Lanka Parliament 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 Hon’ble Speaker, the reception was attended by several senior government officials including the Minister for Ports, Shipping & Aviation, the Attorney General, Secretary of Defence and all three Service Chiefs

The visit concluded with a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) at sea off Colombo between INS Delhi and SLN ship Vijayabahu.

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VM/JSN                                                                                                                     148/23