Amid growing bonhomie between Asian neighbors India and Sri Lanka, especially in the defense sector, Indian submarine submarine Karanj arrived at the Colombo port on Sunday.
According to a statement made by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, it is Karanj's first visit to a foreign seaport.
The submarine was welcomed by the Sri Lankan Navy in Colombo.
"INS Karanj welcomed in Colombo by Sri Lanka on its 1st foreign port call for operational turnaround," the statement from the Indian High Commission read.
"High Commissioner visited the Kalveri-class submarine yesterday & interacted with the crew. 100 Sri Lanka Navy personnel visited onboard for familiarisation briefing," it added.
India has been making all-out efforts to cement its ties with Sri Lanka, with a slew of projects announced for the island nation by the Narendra Modi government in recent months.
In the last six months, New Delhi has completed a $1 billion railway project and has built over 45,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the tiny island nation.