Bangladesh Army Chief Visits India, Discusses Anti-Terror Collaboration

Bangladesh Army Chief General S.M. Shafiuddin Ahmed came to India on Thursday for a three-day visit. He met with the Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, and they talked about ways to work together against terrorism and improve general cooperation between the two countries.

Aside from this, the two Army chiefs also talked about improving and strengthening interoperability, training, and general bilateral cooperation as part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

During General Ahmed’s visit, he will also meet with India’s top military and civilian leaders. There, he will talk about ways to improve defense ties between India and Bangladesh. General Ahmed met with General Manoj Pande and then went to see Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal A.P. Singh, the Defence Secretary, and the Foreign Secretary. The Ministry of Defense told him that the Department of Defence Production (DDP) and the Army Design Bureau had also told him about the Indian ecosystem for making defense weapons.

During the visit, the two armies signed a “Implementing Arrangement” for UN Peacekeeping Operations and Training Cooperation between the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in India and the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training (BIPSOT) in Bangladesh.

The Chief of the Bangladesh Army, who is visiting, will be the Reviewing Officer at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on April 29 for the Passing Out Parade. He will go to the Officers Training Academy Museum and talk to the students in the graduating class.

India and Bangladesh worked together and helped each other during the Liberation War of 1971, according to the Ministry of Defense. On the defense side, there are high-level talks at the level of Service Chiefs, the first Annual Defence Dialogues led by the Defence Secretaries, Tri-services Staff Talks, and Service-specific Staff Talks. Every year in December, Bangladesh Mukti Jodhas and Indian war heroes visit each other as part of the celebrations for Victory Day in Dhaka and Kolkata, ministry officials said.

The Bangladesh Army Chief started his trip by leaving a wreath at the National War Memorial on Thursday to honor the heroes of the Indian Armed Forces who died in battle. On the South Block Lawns, there was a Guard of Honor for the visiting General. After that, he met with General Manoj Pande, who is the Chief of the Army Staff.