New Delhi: When defence minister Manohar Parrikar embarks on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday, it will be the first ever visit by an Indian defence minister to the neighbouring country. The minister will return on December 1.
Mr Parrikar’s official visit include meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also holds the defence portfolio, security adviser to the PM, and calling on President Abdul Hamid.
The vice-chiefs of the Army and Air Force, deputy chief of Navy, besides the coast guards chief, will also accompany the defence minister. The Indian delegation will also visit the military academy in Chittagong.
Top defence ministry officials said the focus of the trip is to deepen security ties and firm up a defence cooperation agreement that may be signed when Hasina visits India on December 17.
They said that Mr Parrikar was scheduled to travel to Bangladesh much earlier this month but the visit was delayed. The sources also ruled out any link between the visit and the sale of two submarines to Bangladesh by China. When Bangladesh Navy chief Muhammad Farid Habib visited India in November 2015, he had said Bangladesh is going to buy two used submarines from China for “training” its surface crew and Sonar crew in anti-submarine warfare.
“Since the delimitation of maritime border problem has been solved, we are now trying to cooperate. We are trying to patrol in our areas, which is why we also expect a lot of gas and oil,” Mr Habib had said, adding that Bangladesh wants to work with the Indian Navy as there are many “non-traditional threats” in sea, a reference to piracy, floating armouries among others.
