Sri Lanka is in talks with India to discuss a proposed acquisition of two Dornier jets for the Sri Lankan military, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris has said. Peiris met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday in Delhi before Jaishankar left for Australia to meet his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the United States.

“There is a proposal for the purchase of two Dornier aircraft. There is no finality, nothing has been agreed. There are proposals and counter-proposals, and that is one of the issues under discussion,” Peiris said. The two men also spoke about the upcoming meeting of the UN Human Rights Council. Lanka has been repeatedly criticized by the Council for reneging on its 2015 pledges to address rights abuses for post-war national reconciliation.

Peiris’ visit comes just weeks after India provided Colombo with a $500 million revolving line of credit from the Exim Bank of India, a $1 billion line of credit for food and medicine. , a $515 million settlement deferral with the Asian Clearing Union and a $400 million currency swap. ease.

Sri Lankan Tamil lawmakers wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, asking for India’s help in implementing the 13th Amendment for devolution of powers, which was introduced during the intervention of India in 1987.

The Dornier is a twin-engine multipurpose aircraft used for maritime surveillance by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The Indian Air Force also uses it. It is a centerpiece of the government’s “Make In India” program and is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd under license from the Swiss company RUAG.

The idea for India to deploy a maritime surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka has been in the works for four years, but due to the current thaw in relations, it was never fully considered.