Sri Lanka to downsize military to half by 2030

Representational image. Pic/iStock

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Friday announced plans to reduce the current strength of its military to half by 2030 amid criticism that military expenditure was more than the allocation for health care and education in the 2023 budget.

The Army's strength is to be reduced to 1,00,000 by the year 2030, down from 2,00,783. The strength would be limited to 1,35,000 by next year, the Defence Ministry said.

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"The overall aim of the strategic blueprint is to broach a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force by the year 2030 in order to meet upcoming security challenges," the statement quoting state minister of defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said.

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