Dhaka, Delhi agree to strengthen defence cooperation

Bangladesh and India have expressed commitment to elevating engagements between their armed forces and reviewed the progress of bilateral defence cooperation initiatives.

At the 4th Bangladesh-India Annual Defence Dialogue held in New Delhi on Thursday, both sides emphasised the need to work closely to implement the $500 million line of credit extended from India for defence items.

Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman and Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar co-chaired the dialogue.

Different aspects of defence industrial and capability-building cooperation came up for detailed discussions.

Ajay also invited the Bangladeshi delegation to the upcoming DefExpo 2022.

Both countries have great potential for cooperation in defence trade, co-development and joint production, he said.

The defence secretary commended Bangladeshi for its efforts in UN peacekeeping, according to the Press Information Bureau of India.

During their interaction, the two sides reviewed ongoing defence cooperation between their countries and expressed satisfaction that collaboration is growing despite difficulties imposed by the Covid.

The talks covered the existing bilateral exercises and training, and the countries agreed to increase the complexity of these exercises.