Navy chief on Bangladesh visit to boost bilateral defence ties

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba today embarked on a six-day visit to Bangladesh, aiming to consolidate the defence ties with India's eastern neighbour and explore new avenues for naval cooperation, the Navy said today.

During his visit from June 24 to 29, Admiral Lanba, also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, will hold discussions with the chiefs of the three armed forces of Bangladesh and other officials of the Bangladesh government and military.

He is scheduled to call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the visit.

After Dhaka, the Navy chief will proceed to the port city Chittagong and Khulna, where he will visit Bangladeshi naval establishments.

He will inaugurate the first edition of Indian Navy-Bangladesh Navy Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT), being instituted as an annual feature between the navies of the two countries.

The commencement of CORPAT is a major step towards enhanced operational interaction between the two navies.

India carries out a similar exercise with Thailand, which concluded last week.

Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally robust, encompassing a wide span which includes operational interactions through port calls, passage exercises along with capacity building, capability enhancement and training initiatives.

The Bangladesh Navy was the Chair of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium between 2016 and 2018. IONS is a multilateral maritime cooperation platform launched by the Indian Navy in 2008.

"The goodwill visit of Chief of the Naval Staff will further strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between the navies of both countries," the Indian Navy said in a statement.