Indian Army Chief arrives Dhaka today

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande arrived here this morning on a four-day visit at the invitation of chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed.

This is the first foreign visit by General Pande since his assumption, said a press release.

The Indian Army Chief is accompanied by his spouse Archana Pande and a three-member delegation.

He is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina tomorrow.

The visit of Manoj Pande will further strengthen the existing close and fraternal ties between the armed forces of the two countries, it added.

After arriving here, General Manoj Pandey said that his respect for Bangladesh and the foundation of the existing historical and professional relationship between the two armies was clearly revealed by his visit here as first foreign visit after took over as the Chief of the Indian Army.

Later, a special briefing was organized for the delegation in the helmet conference room of the headquarters.

He was informed about Bangladesh Army’s combat readiness, advanced training system, role in world peace and overall administrative structure. The Indian Army Chief praised the current leadership and overall high standard of the Bangladesh army.

Before arriving at the army base, General Manoj Pandey placed floral wreaths at ‘Shikha Anirban’ (The Eternal Flame) in memory of the martyrs of Bangladesh’s great liberation war.

He was given a guard of honor by a smart contingent of the army at Senakunj and there he planted a sapling.

Later, General Manoj Pandey paid a courtesy call on Chiefs of Bangladesh Navy and Air Force and Major General Tariq Ahmed Siddique, Security Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister.

In the afternoon, the Indian delegation visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

In the evening, a banquet dinner and cultural program was held in honor of General Manoj Pandey at the Army Multipurpose Complex by Bangladesh Army Chief.

He would address the local and foreign trainees at the Defense Service Command and Staff College (DSCSC) in Mirpur Cantonment tomorrow.

On the same day, the visiting team would visit Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training (BIPSOT) and Bangabandhu Military Museum located in Rajendrapur Cantonment.

Through this visit, the existing relationship between India and Bangladesh Army would be more dynamic. (BSS)