Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) delegations held their 9th High Level Meeting (HLM) at Mirissa, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday, with talks centred on marine pollution response, maritime search and rescue (SAR) and maritime law enforcement.

The two sides also discussed expanding capacity building and technical assistance, according to the ICG.

Director General Paramesh Sivamani, who heads the ICG, led the Indian delegation. Rear Admiral Ruwan Rupasena, Director General of the SLCG, headed the Sri Lankan side. Mirissa, on Sri Lanka's southern coast, is home to the SLCG headquarters.

Both Coast Guards reaffirm commitment on maritime challenges

Both leaderships reaffirmed their commitment to work closely on current maritime challenges and to ensure safety and environmental protection across the waters the two countries share, the ICG said. The service added that both forces were resolved to advance bilateral engagement, maritime safety and environmental protection throughout the Indian Ocean Region.

The ICG held a similar meeting with the Korea Coast Guard at Incheon last month.

Sri Lanka Coast Guard meetings run under a 2018 MoU

The HLM is an annual meeting held under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the two services signed in May 2018.

The venue has moved between the two countries in recent years. The 6th meeting was held in New Delhi in October 2023, the 7th in Colombo in November 2024 and the 8th in New Delhi in August 2025. Rear Admiral YR Serasinghe led the Sri Lankan delegation at the last two.

Mobile training teams proposed at the Colombo round

At the 7th meeting, both agencies agreed to expand training programmes. The ICG proposed mobile training teams to give SLCG personnel hands-on training. Drug trafficking and the safety of mariners were also on that agenda.

Indian Coast Guard ships exercised pollution response off Colombo in January

The two forces practised pollution response at sea this year. Offshore Patrol Vessel ICGS Varaha and Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Atulya called at Colombo on 24 January and carried out Exercise SAGAREX with their Sri Lankan counterparts off the coast three days later.

Crews from the two ships cleaned Galle Face beach with SLCG officers during the visit. The ships then moved to Galle.

India delivered rescue equipment and spares to the SLCG this year

In April, India handed over two personal watercraft and safety gear to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard for near-shore SAR. The High Commission of India in Colombo said the Defence Adviser presented the equipment at a ceremony at the SLCG headquarters in Mirissa.

INS Airavat carried spare parts for the Sri Lankan vessel Suraksha to Colombo earlier this year, the Sri Lanka Navy said. The ICG provided the parts under a Government of India grant.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Colombo in September. ICGS Sarathi was in the Sri Lankan capital last week with INS Tir and INS Sujata, as part of the Indian Navy's First Training Squadron, which carried 135 officer trainees.