German Navy ship Bayern to arrive in Sri Lanka

German frigate Bayern will arrive in Sri Lanka on January 15 and will be docked at the Colombo Port till January 18, 2022. 

The ship, with around 200 sailors on board and on a patrol and training mission in the Indo-Pacific, is making a port call in Colombo as part of its six-month-long deployment in the region. 
The frigate embarked on this journey in August 2021 and will return to Germany end of February 2022. The deployment of Bayern relates to the German government’s Policy Guidelines for the IndoPacific as well as to the European Union’s Strategy for Cooperation in the 
Indo-Pacific. 

Both papers provide the policy framework for affirming Germany’s and the EU’s resolve to engage more actively in the region. The guidelines and strategies lay out how Germany and the EU intend to approach the countries of the region 
in the future. 

Germany offers its support as a competent cooperation partner in a vast array of issues, among them being security policy, trade and investment, climate protection, connectivity, digital 
transformation and rule of law. 

Commenting on Bayern’s visit to Sri Lanka, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka Holger Seubert said, “The fact that a German frigate drops anchor at the Colombo Port testifies the outstandingly high quality of Germany’s bilateral relations with Sri Lanka. The visit gives expression to Germany’s determination to broaden its footprint in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Prior to the stopover in Sri Lanka, Bayern was actively involved in monitoring UN sanctions against North Korea and in the EU’s anti-piracy mission Atalanta. 

The mission also serves as an opportunity to carry out joint exercises at sea with the Sri Lankan Navy for the very first time. All activities carried out in connection with the mission will strictly adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines.