Sri Lanka Navy gets UAVs from Japan

Colombo, Sep 29 (PTI) Japan on Monday announced the decision to provide the Sri Lanka Navy with two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s ongoing official visit to Japan.

Sri Lanka and Japan have exchanged notes on Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) programme in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a release from the Japanese embassy here said.  “Japan’s first OSA for Sri Lanka signifies that bilateral cooperation in security has entered a new phase,” it said.  Launched in 2023, OSA is a new grant aid cooperation framework of Japan to strengthen the security and deterrence capabilities of like-minded countries.  “OSA enables armed forces to be a recipient, differently from ‘Official Development Assistance (ODA)’, which is for the economic and social development of developing countries,” the release added.

  Under the OSA Programme, two types of state-of-the-art Japanese-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) worth 500 million yen (approximately 1 billion Sri Lankan rupees) will be provided to the Sri Lanka Navy.

These UAVs will be used for monitoring, surveillance and disaster relief work. The project is expected to enhance the security of Sri Lanka, maintaining and strengthening regional stability.

  Japan also announced the Grant Aid Project for the Enhancement of Productivity in the Dairy Sector, worth 463 million yen (approximately 945 million Lankan rupees).

Equipment such as real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) equipment, sperm motility analyser system and four-wheel tractor, as well as technical support, will be provided to livestock facilities in Central Province, Northern Province, Eastern Province, North Central Province and North West Province.

  The Project aims to improve milk productivity and thereby contribute to inclusive economic development through improved livelihoods of small-scale dairy farmers in Sri Lanka. PTI CORR RD RD RD