Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane is on a visit to Sri Lanka from October 12 to October 16 to strengthen military cooperation. This is his first visit to Indian Army chief to the neighbouring country. During the visit, he will be meeting the Country's senior military and civilian leadership where he will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Sri Lanka defence relations. The Army Chief will take forward the excellent defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and India through multiple meetings with senior officials of the security establishment and exchange views on various defence related issues. He will interact with the Service Chiefs, visit the Headquarters of the Sri Lankan Army, the Gajaba Regimental Headquarters and the Sri Lankan Military Academy. The Army Chief is also scheduled to call on the President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He will witness the culmination phase of the joint exercise between India and Sri Lanka, "Exercise Mitra Shakti", and later address the students and faculty at the Defence Services Command and Staff College at Batalanda. The exercise is being conducted from October 5 to October 15. The Indian Army contingent comprising of 120 personnel of Infantry Battalion Group and a similar strength from a Battalion of the Sri Lankan Army are participating in the bilateral exercise. During exercise, the troops trained, shared and rehearsed tactical drills to undertake joint counter-terrorism operations in a semi urban/rural environment under United Nations mandate. The exercise provides an ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also being instrumental in broadening the inter-operability and cooperation between the Armies of India and Sri Lanka.