Bodh Gaya: A group of 160  members of Sri Lankan military personnel and their families will reach Bodh Gaya on Sunday on a three-day visit in a move to further strengthen military ties and cultural relations between the two countries.

They departed by an Indian Air Force aircraft C17 from Colombo Sunday morning and will return by the same flight on Tuesday.

 Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Sri Lankan army chief Mahesh Senanayake met them at Colombo airport.

The travellers shared their excitement about their special visit, and thanked the Government of India and Indian Army.

The visit proposal was mooted during visit of Army chief Bipin Rawat to Sri Lanka in April and was promptly cleared by Ministry of Defence.

Indian Army Spokesperson Aman Anand said it’s an achievement of the military diplomacy where all stakeholders have worked overtime to put it together in such a short time.

Government of India is bearing all the related costs as the personnel will visit Officers Training Academy (OTA), Gaya and religious places including Bodh Gaya.

Among the group, 82 are from Sri Lankan army, 40 from navy and 38 from Airforce.

India and Sri Lanka share robust defence ties with large number of Sri Lankan military personnel getting training programmes in India.

This year, India handed over a second advanced off-shore patrol vessel to Sri Lanka.

The armies of India and Sri Lanka, along with five other countries would participate in a joint military drill under the BIMSTEC forum in September this year.