CONTEXT:

• India and Sri Lanka have agreed to increase cooperation in security and defense spheres in several areas.
• The cooperation areas include regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking.
• The issues came up for discussion when Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena in Colombo during his official visit.

BACKGROUND

• India is the only neighbor of Sri Lanka, separated by the Palk Strait.
• Both nations occupy a strategic position in South Asia and have sought to build a common security umbrella in the Indian Ocean.
• Both India and Sri Lanka are republics within the Commonwealth of Nations.