Coast guards of India and Sri Lanka held a high-level meeting in Colombo on Monday as part of efforts to enhance cooperation in addressing various maritime challenges for strengthening the safety and security framework in the region.
A four-member Indian Coast Guard (ICG) delegation led by Director General S Paramesh and a Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) delegation headed by Director General Rear Admiral Y R Serasinghe participated in the meeting which marked a significant milestone in the collaborative efforts between the two forces, the defence ministry said in a statement here.
The 7th Annual High-Level Meeting between them underscores the commitment of both the coast guards to jointly address maritime challenges while focusing on a range of regional maritime contemporary issues, including drug trafficking, marine pollution, safety of mariners, adoption of best practices, capacity building programmes and other collaborative arrangements, it said.
“The outcome of the meeting reiterated enhancing mutual cooperation in addressing these challenges, thereby strengthening the maritime safety and security framework in the region,” the statement said.
This annual meeting follows the institutionalised mechanism as outlined in the MoU signed between both maritime agencies in May 2018. The 8th edition of the meeting will be hosted by the ICG in 2025.
Meanwhile, in another statement, the defence ministry said that Solid State Physics Laboratory, a DRDO laboratory, has “successfully developed indigenous processes for growing and manufacturing 4-inch diameter silicon carbide (SiC) wafers and fabricating gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) upto 150W and Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) up to 40W for applications up to X-band frequencies”.
GaN/SiC technology is a critical enabler of next-generation applications across defence, aerospace, and clean energy sectors, the statement said.
This advanced technology offers improved efficiency, reduced size and weight, and enhanced performance, making it essential for future combat systems, radars, electronic warfare systems, and green energy solutions, it added.
