Army Chief Gen Pande leaves for Bangladesh on 3-day visit

Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande on Sunday left for Bangladesh on a three-day visit to further enhance bilateral defence and security cooperation, his first visit abroad after taking the reins of the 1.2 million-strong force.

Gen Pande’s travel to the neighbouring country comes less than a month after Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen visited India, during which both sides appreciated the ”trust and mutual respect” in the fast-expanding ties.

The Chief of Army Staff is scheduled to hold one-on-one meetings with the three service chiefs of Bangladesh besides meeting senior leaders of the country, officials said.

Gen Pande will also pay tributes to the fallen heroes of the Bangladesh Liberation War at a memorial.

He is also scheduled to interact with members of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support and Training Operations (BIPSOT), the officials said.

In March last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had travelled to Bangladesh to attend events organised to mark the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the War of Liberation of that country.

In reflection of close ties, India also hosted a number of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh Around 93,000 Pakistani troops had surrendered before the joint forces of the Indian Army and the ”Mukti Bahini” on December 16, 1971, that paved way for the birth of Bangladesh.

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