Colombo, Jan 17 (IANS) India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday became the first top leader to visit the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) Memorial built in the memory of the soldiers who lost their lives in the strife-torn northeastern region of the island nation during 1987-1990.

The memorial was built in 2008 at Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte on the outskirts of the capital by the Sri Lankan government, with the names of about 1,200 Indian troops inscribed on the arrow-shaped black marble.

“It is a matter of pride for me to be here at the IPKF Memorial, raised in honour of those brave soldiers of the Indian armed force who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving the cause of peace in Sri Lanka,” Krishna wrote in the visitors’ book after laying a wreath at the serene memorial.

Noting that the war memorial was an abiding testimony to the strong bonds of friendship between the two governments and their people, Krishna paid tributes to the exceptional courage and commitment shown by the Indian troops under extremely challenging circumstances.

Under the mandate of the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Agreement, the IPKF was deployed in the battle zone to end the civil war between the militant Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists, especially the Liberation of Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan military.

The accord was signed by the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the then Sri Lankan president J.R.Jayawardene in July 1987.

The force withdrew from the northern region during 1989-90 on the request of Jayawardene’s successor, Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Krishna’s Sri Lankan counterpart G.M. Peiris and Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kumar Kantha were present on the occasion.

Kantha held the first official memorial service August 15, 2010, by laying a wreath in the honour of the Indian martyrs.