Overview
- India’s aircraft carrier arrived at Colombo Harbour on November 26 with frigate INS Udayagiri to join the International Fleet Review scheduled for November 30.
- The ships received a ceremonial welcome, and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha hosted a reception aboard Vikrant with Sri Lankan minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa as chief guest.
- Sri Lanka’s navy says foreign warships from Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia, Pakistan and Russia will parade off Colombo and render a salute to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
- INS Vikrant is India’s first indigenously designed and built carrier, created by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, constructed at Cochin Shipyard, and commissioned on September 2, 2022.
- Officials framed the visit under India’s MAHASAGAR/SAGAR vision highlighting cooperative security and HADR roles, and INS Udayagiri’s participation marks its first foreign visit since commissioning on August 26, 2025.