China's naval hospital ship makes first visit to Sri Lanka

The crew of the hospital ship Peace Ark lines up on the board on Aug 6, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

The hospital ship of the Chinese Navy makes its first port visit to Sri Lanka from Aug 6 to Aug 10, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The ship, known as Peace Ark, is making the four-day goodwill visit as the first stop in a broader voyage across the Indian Ocean code-named "Harmonious Mission 2017".

The maiden visit to Sri Lanka began when the ship arrived at the port of Colombo around 10 am on Aug 6 local time, said Xinhua. The visit includes a welcome ceremony as well as a range of activities including providing medical services to the public and other medicine and military exchanges.

"As military cooperation between China and Sri Lanka strengthens, Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark makes its first visit to Sri Lanka," major general Guan Bolin, the commander of the mission, said at the welcome ceremony.

Yi Xianliang, China's ambassador to Sri Lanka, said Chinese Army is an important force for regional stability and world peace, and he hopes the Peace Ark's visit to Sri Lanka can further promote military cooperation between the two countries.

Aside from Sri Lanka, Harmonious Mission 2017 will also see the Peace Ark visit other locations around the Indian Ocean --Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.

This is the sixth iteration of Harmonious Mission, with the first launching in 2010.