Indian Navy chief to visit Bangladesh from July 1 to 4

The visit is aimed at consolidating bilateral defence relations between India and Bangladesh and exploring new avenues for Naval cooperation,a Navy press release said.

The Navy Chief is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, Chief of the Naval Staff, Bangladesh Navy in Dhaka, and also review the Passing Out Parade scheduled at Bangladesh Naval Academy (BNA) at Chittagong on July 4, the release added.

During the visit, the CNS would also hold bilateral discussions with the chiefs of Bangladesh Army and Air Force, the Principal Staff Officer Armed Forces Division, and senior leadership of the Bangladesh Government.

The CNS would also address participants at the National Defence College, Dhaka and visit a few key defence facilities.

Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally strong, encompassing a wide span that includes operational interactions through Port Calls and bilateral Naval Exercises, along with Capacity Building, Capability Enhancement and Training initiatives. The visit of the CNS will further strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between the navies of both countries.

India and Bangladesh share bonds of history, language, culture, and a multitude of other commonalities. The excellent bilateral ties reflect an all-encompassing partnership based on sovereignty, equality, trust, and understanding that goes far beyond a strategic partnership. The partnership has strengthened, matured and evolved as a model for bilateral relations for the entire region and beyond.

In the defence sector, significant bilateral exchanges took place in 2023 with incoming and outgoing visits of the Chiefs of the Indian and Bangladesh Armed Forces.

Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff visited New Delhi from April 27-29, 2023 and on his invitation, the Chief of Staff, Indian Army paid a visit to Bangladesh in June 2023 as presiding officer for the Passing Out Parade at Bangladesh Military Academy.

The 5th Annual Defence Dialogue and 4th Tri-Services Talks were held from August 20-21, 2023 in Dhaka to comprehensively review ongoing defence cooperation. Bangladesh Chief of Naval Staff visited India from September 12-15, 2023 in a series of exchanges under defence cooperation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)