angeldemon_007
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NEW DELHI - India and Bangladesh are exploring ways to expand defense ties beyond their current joint military exercises.
The Indian Navy's chief, Adm. Nirmal Verma, discussed ways to improve cooperation in talks with senior Bangladeshi military officers in Dhaka during a five-day visit that began April 3, said a senior Indian Defence Ministry official.
India will train Bangladeshi military personnel at its facilities in India, the official added.
Verma met Bangladesh President Mohammed Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 7 in Dhaka. The armies of the two countries have held joint exercises for several years, the Defence Ministry official said, and cooperation will be expanded to include the supply of weapons and equipment.
The armies of India and Bangladesh conducted counterterrorism exercises in India's northeastern state of Assam in February and March as part of confidence-building measures.
Ties between India and Bangladesh have steadily improved since Sheikh Hasina came to power in January 2009. Relations had been frosty during the 2001-2006 tenure of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
To curb illegal immigration from Bangladesh, India is fencing the nearly 4,000-kilometer land boundary between the two countries, though demarcation of the fencing remains unsettled in some stretches.
Bangladesh is of strategic interest to India as part of its "look east policy," and efforts should be made to make Bangladesh less dependent on China for arms and equipment, said Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general.
China has been a major supplier of aircraft and helicopters to Bangladesh, he added.
Bangladesh, India Seek Broader Relations - Defense News
The Indian Navy's chief, Adm. Nirmal Verma, discussed ways to improve cooperation in talks with senior Bangladeshi military officers in Dhaka during a five-day visit that began April 3, said a senior Indian Defence Ministry official.
India will train Bangladeshi military personnel at its facilities in India, the official added.
Verma met Bangladesh President Mohammed Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 7 in Dhaka. The armies of the two countries have held joint exercises for several years, the Defence Ministry official said, and cooperation will be expanded to include the supply of weapons and equipment.
The armies of India and Bangladesh conducted counterterrorism exercises in India's northeastern state of Assam in February and March as part of confidence-building measures.
Ties between India and Bangladesh have steadily improved since Sheikh Hasina came to power in January 2009. Relations had been frosty during the 2001-2006 tenure of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
To curb illegal immigration from Bangladesh, India is fencing the nearly 4,000-kilometer land boundary between the two countries, though demarcation of the fencing remains unsettled in some stretches.
Bangladesh is of strategic interest to India as part of its "look east policy," and efforts should be made to make Bangladesh less dependent on China for arms and equipment, said Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general.
China has been a major supplier of aircraft and helicopters to Bangladesh, he added.
Bangladesh, India Seek Broader Relations - Defense News
