A delegation from the United States Institute for Security Governance (ISG) met with Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd.), and a group of officials from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) last week to provide an overview of their activities and explore further cooperation between the two counties.
“The high-level engagements took place alongside an ISG workshop designed to provide an overview of the institute’s ongoing initiatives and to explore opportunities for deepening cooperation with Sri Lanka’s military institutions. Discussions covered a comprehensive spectrum of areas vital to modern defence and security, including security governance, defence management, operational planning, resource management, cyber security and professional military education,” the MOD said.
According to MOD, the ISG team was led by Regional Project Lead Michael Charles Rembold and Country Project Coordinator Matt Ashley, accompanied by officials from the US Embassy in Colombo, including Assistant Defence Attaché Mr. Seth Nevis and Chief of the Office of Defence Cooperation Lieutenant Commander Ros Larry.
“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing professionalism, enhancing institutional efficiency and supporting human capital development as essential elements of Sri Lanka’s evolving defence priorities” the MOD added.
According to the ISG, the US institution made its inaugural visit to Sri Lanka in February 2020, just before the onset of the global pandemic, and had identified the potential for an Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) project in collaboration with the newly established Sri Lanka National Defence College (NDC).
“In early 2023, the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence reached out to the US Embassy Colombo requesting ISG’s support for two critical defence sector governance needs. They requested assistance in developing a new defence strategy that could help the Government advocate for a more streamlined, technologically advanced military with a heightened maritime focus.
“Secondly, they requested ISG’s expertise in analysing military force modernisation and force optimisation options – formidable tasks given limited capacity within the Ministry of Defence staff,” US Defence Security Cooperation University said.