Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Sayurala left for India February 16th from the Port of Trincomalee to take part in MILAN 2024. MILAN, the multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy for the 12th time, will be held from 19th to 27th February in the Visakhapatnam Port and in the Bay of Bengal, eastern seas of India.
The theme of this year’s edition is Camaraderie Cohesion Collaboration. Navies and maritime partners from many regional and extra-regional countries will take part in the multilateral naval exercise. Before the departure of SLNS Sayurala, Commander Eastern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva expressed his best wishes to Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet, Rear Admiral Chandima Silva and Commanding Officer SLNS Sayurala, Captain Dharshana Amarakoon who will take part in MILAN 2024.
Participating in this nature of multilateral naval exercises will allow the Sri Lanka Navy to enhance cooperation and interoperability with other maritime stakeholders both regionally and beyond. Also, it offers numerous advantages, including acquiring new knowledge about maritime operations, exchanging strategies and experiences, identifying emerging maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean region, and collaboratively finding solutions for them.