Manohar Parrikar held expansive talks on bilateral defence cooperation on 2-day visit to Dhaka
The visit focused on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation and proposing a new security framework to step up capabilities of both countries' armed forces.
In Short
- Manohar Parrikar with his entourage of high-ups from the ministry visited Dhaka on November 30-December 1.
- The visit was focused on enhancing bilateral security ties between the two countries.
- Parrikar also discussed blue economy opportunities both countries can work upon.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar visited Dhaka on a 2-day trip from Wednesday, with an agenda to strengthen security ties and engage both countries into greater cooperation towards military setup.
In a first such visit by a defence minister in over 45 years, Parrikar paid a courtesy call to Bangladesh President Advocate Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He delivered Narendra Modi's greetings to them and communicated his desire for Sheikh Hasina to pay a visit to India.
The defence minister was accompanied by his entourage of high-ups from the ministry, that included deputy chiefs of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy, among others.
THE VISIT AND MEETINGS
He met with the prime minister's security advisors, Bangladesh military and Air Force chiefs, Director General of Coast Guard and Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division.
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Parrikar's visit focused on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation and proposing a new security framework to step up capabilities of both countries' armed forces. His proposed framework included training programmes, joint exercises, increase of HDR activities and also blue-economy opportunities.
He also expressed India's support to Sheikh Hasina's vision for the country inspired by the Bangabandhu's dream, who is also known as Bangladesh's father of the nation.
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The defence minister later gifted a replica of a helicopter used at Dimapur in 1971 during Bangladesh's War of Liberation and some photographs of paratroopers who took part in the war. It was the first helicopter built by the Bangladesh Air Force during the Liberation war.
The air frame has been donated to the Liberation War Museum in capital's Agargaon, it was brought to Dhaka by an IL76 aircraft of Indian Air Force two days earlier.