Thursday, November 22, 2007

New Armaments For Army

With the passing of the second reading of the new budget, the Sri Lanka Military has swung into action to procure much needed weapons, ammunition and spare parts. A delegation comprising military experts from Sri Lanka returned hours ago from a visit to a state in the former Russian Block. The delegation managed to secure a large consignment of weapons, ammunition and spare parts for the Army. The consignment includes everything from Main Battle Tanks to RM 70 122mm mobile rocket launchers. Purchases of weapons to SLAF and SLN will also be expedited in due course.

Many European Union countries, especially the United Kingdom has imposed restrictions on the sale of weapons to Sri Lanka at an unofficial level. Weapons procured from these countries get delayed due to various checks imposed by those countries. The country which has sold the weapons to Sri Lanka yesterday is to become the Chair of the European Union for a duration of six months next year. The visit by the Sri Lankan delegation is said to enhance our standing in the EU once that country becomes Chairman of the EU. This might result in greater access to weapons systems built in European Union countries.

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