Accordingly, the Cabinet on a proposal made by Minister of External Affairs Prof G. L. Peiris approved the Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Stand-By Arrangement System (UNSAS).

Sri Lanka first participated in UN peacekeeping in 1960 by deploying six peacekeepers in United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). And recently, Sri Lanka enhanced its contribution by deploying a complete infantry battalion of 950 personnel to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2004.

Sri Lanka is now a committed partner for UN peacekeeping operations with over thousand men and women from the three Armed Forces and the Police serving in seven different Peacekeeping Missions and ranks 22nd in terms of troop contributions to the UN Peacekeeping.