Sri Lanka and the United States will co-host a three-week multinational peacekeeping operation exercise in southwest Sri Lanka early next month, the US embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

More than 270 personnel from Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United States, and the UN Training Assistance Team will begin the three-week peacekeeping operation exercise code named Sama Gamanaat (Peace Walk) at Kukuleganga in southwest Sri Lanka on June 5.

The exercise, the first to be conducted in Sri Lanka, will be inaugurated by Sri Lankan chief of defense Lionel Balagalle and USArmy Pacific Commanding General James Campbell.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jeffrey Lunstead and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar will also attend the inauguration.

The exercise is designed to familiarize participants with principles and techniques for conducting peace operations in a multilateral environment.

This is the fifth of a series of Multinational Platoon Exercises for peacekeeping operations that have been conducted in the Asia-Pacific region.