Sri Lanka’s Defense Secretary Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said the historical relationship between China and Sri Lanka had been growing on the mutual trust built on pillars of political, economic, cultural, educational and most importantly in defense over the years.

Delivering the keynote address as the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of the Chinese National Defense University (NDU) Alumni Association of Sri Lanka held at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo recently, he said China had proven this universal phenomenon in its relationship with Sri Lanka persistently.

“A friend in need is a friend indeed”, the Defense Secretary said.

While wishing the success in the progress of the Alumni’s future endeavors, Maj. Gen. Gunaratne said China had been a historical ally of Sri Lanka across a multitude of avenues including Buddhism, trade, infrastructure development and global connectivity.

“Sri Lankans will never forget the great cooperation extended by China during our hard times which we had to undergo during the recent past domestically and globally”, he said.

The Defense Secretary also expressed his gratitude to China and the Chinese National Defense University for providing professional expertise in training the battle commanders in planning out counter strategies during the fight against the now-defunct LTTE.

He also expressed his belief that the inauguration of the Alumni of the Chinese National Defense University would result in inaccessible heights between the existing bonds between the two countries in the future.

Establishing the Chinese NDU Alumni Association of Sri Lanka, it helps to enhance and foster mutual relations between graduates, mainly the officers of the Sri Lankan tri-forces while connecting them professionally and internationally.

Since 2001, over 75 army officers have been graduated from the NDU in China.

Chargé D'affaires of the Chinese Embassy Hu Wei was the Guest of Honor at the ceremony and Sri Lanka Customs Director General and President of the Alumni organizing committee Maj. Gen. (Retd) G.V Ravipriya delivered welcome remarks at the event.

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