Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon for an official visit running until September 10 — the first by an Indian Defence Minister in 38 years.

The last was K.C. Pant, who travelled to Sri Lanka in 1988 during the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi, NewsFirst reported, citing the Indian Ministry of Defence.

Three memorandums of understanding on security are scheduled to be signed during the visit, according to Hiru News. Neither the subject matter nor the signatories of the three agreements has been disclosed.

Singh, accompanied by senior officials from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, is expected to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha, a retired Air Vice Marshal. He is also scheduled to meet members of the Indian community in Colombo.

Indian media reports say the visit will review implementation of the India–Sri Lanka defence cooperation agreement signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka last year, Ada Derana reported.

The Indian Defence Ministry said the visit aims to strengthen ties between the two countries while deepening cooperation in defence, economic engagement, maritime affairs and regional security.

The 38-year gap

The interval itself is the story. Pant’s 1988 visit fell within the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, sent to Sri Lanka under the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord and withdrawn in 1990. No Indian Defence Minister has made an official visit in the 36 years since that withdrawal.

That history sits directly on this week’s itinerary. The route list in the Colombo traffic plan issued for the visit indicates Singh’s programme includes the IPKF memorial, as well as travel to Nuwara Eliya.

Traffic restrictions in force

A special traffic plan runs in Colombo from Tuesday until Thursday, the Colombo Traffic Division said. Vehicle movement will be restricted intermittently along the routes Singh uses, with the plan covering the Katunayake Expressway, Colombo and Battaramulla areas.

Outlets differ slightly on the visit’s length: Ada Derana describes a three-day visit and NewsFirst gives the window as September 8 to 10, while Hiru calls it a two-day visit but also places him in the country until Thursday. The September 8–10 window is the one both the Indian Defence Ministry statement and the police traffic plan support.

Update, September 8: the three agreements are described

Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath has since set out what the three agreements cover, closing the disclosure gap noted above. They are a memorandum between the two countries’ National Cadet Corps, a memorandum between the Sri Lankan and Indian National Defence Colleges, and Indian maintenance support for the Sri Lanka Air Force’s 40mm L70 air defence guns — 24 of which India supplied between 2000 and 2006, 18 already serviced free of charge, with the remaining six to follow. The full breakdown, and a discrepancy over whether the third agreement covers supply or servicing, is set out separately.

The agreements are to be exchanged when Singh meets President Dissanayake on Wednesday morning.

EconomyNext reports that Singh was received at the airport by Deputy Defence Minister Maj. Gen. Aruna Jayasekara and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, and quotes him before departure from New Delhi calling Sri Lanka “one of our most important partners under the Neighbourhood First and MAHASAGAR initiatives.”

Sources