The Indian Army Chief, Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, has offered Sri Lanka technical assistance to upgrade its military, according to a press release issued by the Lankan Army.

The offer was made at a meeting Gen. Suhag had with the Lankan Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Crishanthe de Silva, in Colombo on Monday.

"Gen. Dalbir Singh highlighted the importance of modernizing the Sri Lankan Army to suit international standards and to be geared to meet different types of emerging threats, including cyber attacks," the press release said.

Lankan Army Chief, Lt. Gen. De Silva, had "requested the Indian Army to explore possibilities of new areas of training," and Gen. Suhag agreed to "broaden the areas of training."

Defence analysts in Colombo said that Gen. Suhag's offer of help in tackling cyber attacks is significant since 21 st century terror groups are using the latest technology to take on the security forces of countries.

Gen.Suhag had said the Indian training programmes for Lankan military personnel would be "spearheaded by the Sri Lankan Army."

This is considered significant since it suggests that the courses will take into consideration the specific needs of the Lankan army in the emerging regional and global strategic scenario.

On Tuesday, Gen.Suhag left for a brief tour of the Northern Province and Trincomalee in the East, where he had served extensively as a young Company Commader in the 4th Battalion of the 5th Gurkhas as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the late 1980s.

(The New Indian Express)