India congratulates Sri Lanka Air Force on first commissioned women pilots
Nov 18, 2020
Colombo [Sri Lanka], November 18 : India on Wednesday congratulated Sri Lankan Air Force officers -ADPL Gunarathne and RT Weerawardana - on becoming the first female officers commissioned as pilots by the Sri Lanka Air Force.
"Proud moment for #SriLanka & for women everywhere! Our Congratulations to ADPL Gunarathne & RT Weerawardana on becoming the 1st women to be commissioned as Pilots in
@airforcelk We are especially happy as they are both alumni of Indian Air Force Academy Hyderabad @IAF_MCC," the High Commission of India in Colombo tweeted.
The commissioning took place on November 16
The High Commission of India said that the commissioning of the flying officers is a matter of great pride and happiness notably for Sri Lanka but also for India.
Both the officers were trained in the 204th pilot course of the Indian Air Force Academy at Hyderabad from July 2018 to June 2019, according to a press release.
Training has been one of the strongest pillars of bilateral defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka. More than half of military training slots in India for foreign countries are provided to Sri Lanka.
Annually, over 1200 personnel from Sri Lankan Armed Forces undergo training in India. Of these, nearly 250 are from Sri Lanka Air Force. The joint training inculcates camaraderie and prepares the bedrock for cooperation between India and Sri Lanka to safeguard our common security interests and contribute to regional peace and security, the release further added.
