On the joyous occasion of Christmas which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, I am extending my greetings to all Christians, naval personnel and civil staff employees.

Yet another meritorious event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy was held at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya on 24^th December 2020. This special occasion was presided over by Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne and it was also attended by the President of Navy Seva Vanitha Unit, Mrs. Chandima Ulugetenne.

Sri Lanka Navy granted an interest free loan worth Rs. 500,000 each to 70 senior sailors and Rs. 200,000 each to 30 junior sailors today (24th December 2020). The occasion to hand over cheques to the beneficiaries was presided over by Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne at the Navy Headquarters.

The Naval Sniper Firing Competition- 2020, organized for the first time by Sri Lanka Navy, got underway at the Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee on 14^th December 2020. On completion of the competition, the prize awarding ceremony was held under the patronage of Commander Eastern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Ruwan Perera in Trincomalee on 20th December.

An N95 mask irradiation machine indigenously manufactured with the technical expertise of the Sri Lanka Navy, allowing to reuse N95 masks once used, was handed over to the Emergency Treatment Unit of Teaching Hospital Karapitiya by Commander Southern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera on 16th December 2020.

Sri Lanka Navy has been playing a key role in support of the national effort of eliminating kidney disease from the country. As another initiative of this timely social responsibility project, the 787th Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant set up by the Navy at Hulannuge in Ampara was declared open for community use on 16th December 2020.

The Passing out Parade and Commissioning Ceremony of sixty two (62) Midshipmen of the 61st Intake of Officer Cadets of Sri Lanka Navy and 35th Intake of Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, underwent training at the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), was held in a dignified sequence at NMA, Trincomalee on 12th December 2020. Secretary of Defence, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne graced this occasion as the Chief Guest and took the salute at the invitation of the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne.

Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne declared open a new Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) Stores and Workshop Complex at the Naval Dockyard in Trincomalee today (12th December 2020).

The graduation ceremony of the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Sapugaskanda Course No 14 was held at Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre on 11th December 2020. Secretary of Defence, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, where Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne also attended.

In view of the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka Navy which was celebrated on a proud note on 09th December 2020,