Bangladesh Army Chief, Gen S M Shafiuddin Ahmed arrived today on a three-day visit to India.
During the visit, he will hold meetings with India’s senior military and civilian leadership during which the two sides discuss avenues for enhancing India-Bangladesh defence relations.
India and Bangladesh share the historical legacy of cooperation and support during the Liberation War of 1971. The active engagement on the defence side includes high-level exchanges at the level of Service Chiefs, the conduct of the inaugural Annual Defence Dialogues by the Defence Secretaries, Tri-services and Service-specific Staff Talks. Exchange visits of Bangladesh Mukti Jodhas and Indian war veterans take place every year in December to mark the Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka and Kolkata.
The Bangladesh Army Chief commenced his visit by paying tributes to the fallen heroes of the Indian Armed Forces by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial. The visiting General was accorded a Guard of Honour at the South Block Lawns after which he called on Gen Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff.
The two Army Chiefs discussed various issues pertaining to enhancing and strengthening interoperability, training, anti-terrorism collaboration and overall bilateral cooperation as part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.
The Bangladesh Army Chief later called on Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, Air Marshal AP Singh, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary. He was also briefed on the Indian indigenous defence equipment manufacturing eco-system by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) and the Army Design Bureau.
An ‘’Implementing Arrangement’’ for UN Peacekeeping Operations and Training Cooperation between the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK), India and Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training (BIPSOT), Bangladesh was signed between both Armies during the visit.