Army to be trimmed to 135,000 personnel by 2024
Sri Lanka would reduce the size of its Army to 135,000 by 2024, from the current cadre of 200,783, State Minister of Defence, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, said on Friday.
Tennakoon said, in a media statement, that the number would be further reduced to 100,000 by 2030State Minister Tennakoon added that the strength of the military and sustainable economic development were two sides of a coin.
He said that military spending indirectly stimulated and opened avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security. The government had come up with a strategic blueprint to establish a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force by the year 2030 to meet future security challenges, on par with the national security needs of the country, he said.
