Sri Lankan security forces couldn’t pay training fees to India: MoS Defence

 

Emphasising on the need to attain self-reliance, India’s Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt said Sri Lanka was in such a bad economic crisis that its security forces were unable to pay the nominal fees for training exercises in India. 

The saddest part was their (Sri Lanka) Army officers who came for training (in India) did not even have the means to pay for the nominal fee. 

Stressing on being ‘AatmaNirbhar’ (self-reliant) as a nation, a feat that he claimed India has achieved in “every arena”, Bhatt said, “Our economic situation is so strong that we can feed ourselves comfortably for a year (if faced with a crisis). 

Referring to India’s position during the Russia-Ukraine war, the Union minister said, “We evacuated so many people.