Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to make an official visit to Sri Lanka, Ada Derana reported, in what would be the first trip to the island by an Indian defence minister in several years.

The visit is expected to take place during the first week of September, the outlet said, citing Indian media reports.

Discussions on the visit were held recently between the High Commission of India in Colombo and the Ministry of Defence, according to the report.

Agenda

Singh is expected to hold bilateral discussions with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other senior government officials during the trip.

The talks are expected to focus on joint operations between the two countries, training programmes and regional security issues.

Ada Derana did not give exact dates, a delegation list, or any confirmation from the Sri Lankan side, and neither government had issued a formal announcement at the time of publication.

A visit called off once before

Singh was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka in September 2023, but that trip was cancelled. The two-day visit, which had been announced for September 2 and 3 that year, was deferred by India’s Defence Ministry within hours of being made public, and was never rescheduled.

No other verified Sri Lankan or international newsroom had reported the September 2026 plan at the time of publication, and the report rests on Indian media accounts relayed by Ada Derana. LankaNewz will update this article as the visit is confirmed.

Update: dates set for September 9 and 10 — August 25

The visit has firmed up, and it falls later than first reported. Singh is scheduled to be in Sri Lanka on September 9 and 10, Ada Derana reported on Tuesday, citing sources in India’s Ministry of Defence. The original report had put the trip in the first week of September.

Singh is expected to meet President and Defence Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Sampath Thuyacontha. Maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region is expected to feature prominently.

The MoU under review

The talks are expected to review implementation of the India–Sri Lanka Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo on 5 April 2025 — the first umbrella defence agreement between the two countries.

The five-year pact provides a structured framework for military engagement, covering joint exercises, capacity building, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and increased naval port calls. Either side may terminate it on three months’ notice, and it can be extended by a further three years by mutual agreement.

The defence MoU was one of seven bilateral documents exchanged during that April 2025 visit, which also produced agreements on health, mass media, energy and connectivity, along with bilateral amendatory agreements on debt restructuring. It was Modi’s fourth trip to Sri Lanka since 2014 and the first by an Indian prime minister since Dissanayake took office in September 2024.

By Tuesday morning NewsFirst and Hiru News had both filed their own reports carrying the same dates, agenda and list of interlocutors. NewsFirst attributed the account to The Hindu, citing sources in India’s Ministry of Defence; Hiru cited defence ministry sources directly.

All three reports still rest on Indian defence ministry sourcing rather than an announcement from either government. No delegation list has been published, and Colombo has not confirmed the visit publicly.

Sources