India and Bangladesh have decided to further increase engagements between the Armed Forces

Reviewing their ongoing defence cooperation, India and Bangladesh on Thursday emphasised the need to work closely to implement the USD 500 million line of credit extended by India for defence items.

The issue was discussed at the the 4th India-Bangladesh Annual Defence Dialogue held in New Delhi co-chaired by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh, Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman.

According to the Ministry of Defence, Kumar invited the Bangladeshi delegation for the upcoming Def-Expo 2022 and stated that both countries have great potential of cooperation in defence trade, co-development and joint production.

Both the sides reviewed the progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and expressed their commitment to further elevate engagements between the Armed Forces, the ministry said. The talks covered the existing bilateral exercises & training and agreed to increase the complexity of these exercises.

Both sides expressed their satisfaction that cooperation was expanding despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. During the talks, Defence Secretary Kumar also commended the Bangladeshi side for their efforts in UN peace keeping.