The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection of Australia Hon. Peter Dutton met the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Jayantha Perera at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo on May 5.
Among the delegation that accompanied the Hon. Minister were Senior Advisor Mr. Michael Kilham, the Commander Operation Sovereign Borders Major General Andrew Bottrell and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Mr. Michael Outram. They were accompanied by the High Commissioner for Australia Her Excellency Robyn Mudie and the Defence Adviser Captain Jason Sears.
They held cordial discussions on key issues related to illegal migration by sea risking lives, and the Minister expressed his appreciation of the cooperation extended by the SLN for the joint efforts to prevent people smuggling. The Commander of the Navy also took the opportunity to draw attention to the excellent relationships the SLN has with the Australian authorities in combating crimes at sea. He recalled with gratitude the gift of the two fully furbished Bay-class patrol boats by the Australian Government as a capacity enhancement measure, which has been of immense help to the SLN in combating maritime crimes.
[mappress mapid=”15883″]
Image: Sri Lanka Navy