On Tuesday, the Chief of the Naval Staff of the Bangladesh Navy, Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury, visited the Southern Naval Command headquarters in Kochi and was received at INS Garuda by Rear Admiral R.J. Nadkarni.
During the visit, Admiral Chowdhury visited INS Dronacharya, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Diving School, INS Tarangini (Sail Training Ship) and the Indian Naval Air Squadron 550 (Dornier squadron) at INS Garuda. He also interacted with Bangladeshi Naval officers and sailors who are undergoing training at various Indian Naval units, according to a defence press release. Admiral Chowdhury is on an official visit to India from December 7 to 12.
A day earlier, on December 8, Admiral Chowdhury met his Indian Navy counterpart, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, and held talks on ways for the two countries to deepen bilateral maritime cooperation. According to PTI, the two also discussed ways to bolster maritime security cooperation between the two countries.
"The visit aims to consolidate bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, as also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation," the defence ministry said at the time.
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Sources said Admiral Singh and Admiral Chowdhury discussed ways to bolster maritime security cooperation between the two countries.
In October, India and Bangladesh inked a pact for setting up of a joint coastal surveillance system to protect their strategic interests in the maritime domain. India is expected to set up nearly two dozen coastal surveillance radar stations under the pact.
On December 9, Admiral Chowdhury also met with Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat in Delhi. The two discussed “issues of mutual concern” according to the Indian Army in a tweet.
Apart from Delhi and Kochi, Admiral Chowdhury is also to visit Vizag and Kolkata where he will have discussions with Indian Navy officials.
In October, the Indian and Bangladeshi navies had their maiden bilateral exercise. From Bangladesh, the Type 053 Ali Haider and the Type 056 stealth-guided missile corvette BNS Shadinota took part, while the Indian contingent included the Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay and the Khukri-class corvette INS Kuthar.
With inputs from PTI