Army Chief Gen. Naravane leaves for Bangladesh on 5-day visit

The visit comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the neighbouring country.

Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. File

Army Chief Manoj Naravane on Thursday left on a five-day visit to Bangladesh during which he will interact with the Force Commanders of the United Nations Missions in Mali, South Sudan and Central African Republic and the Deputy Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutanese Army.

“He will also attend the closing ceremony of Exercise Shantir Ogrosena, a multilateral U.N.-mandated counter-terrorism exercise comprising the armed forces of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with observers from the U.S., U.K., Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia among others,” the Army said in a statement.

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The visit from April 8 comes amid the Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations which mark 50 years of the liberation of Bangladesh. The Army Chief will also witness the innovations of the Bangladeshi armed forces personnel during the hardware display, the statement said.

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In reflection of close ties, India is also hosting a number of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to 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.

Col. Anand said Gen. Naravane is also scheduled to interact with the force commanders of the UN peacekeeping missions and the deputy chief operations officer of the Royal Bhutanese Army on April 12.

He will also attend the closing ceremony of exercise ‘Shantir Ogrosena’, a multilateral UN-mandated counter-terrorism exercise from April 4 to 12. Besides armies of Bangladesh and India, the exercise is being participated by Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with observers from the U.S., the U.K., Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The Chief of the Army Staff is also scheduled to interact with the members of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support and Training Operations (BIPSOT), the Army spokesperson said.

He said Gen. Naravane will also attend a seminar on UN peace support operations and deliver a keynote address on ‘changing nature of global conflicts: role of UN peacekeepers’.

The Army chief is also scheduled to visit the Mujibur Rahman memorial museum in Dhanmondi where he will pay tributes to the founding father of that country.

(With inputs from PTI)