Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed on Monday returned home after an official visit to the Maldives.
According to the ISPR press release, he went Maldives on 2 June at the invitation of the Chief of the Defense Forces of the Maldives Major General Abdullah Shamaal.
During the visit, General Aziz met the Chief of Defense Staff of the Maldives, the Minister of Defense of the Maldives, other senior officials of the Maldives National Defense Force and the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives.
General Aziz Ahmed attended a formal meeting with Maldivian Defense Minister Maria Ahmed Didi. On behalf of the President of Maldives, the Minister of Defense conveyed his greetings to the President and Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In reply, General Aziz Ahmed conveyed his best wishes to the Prime Minister of Maldives. The meeting discussed ways to further strengthen mutual cooperation and good relations between the two countries.
Later, General Aziz Ahmed attended a bilateral meeting with the Chief of Defense Forces Major General Major General Abdullah Shamaal and other senior officials at the Maldives Defense Forces Headquarters. General Abdullah Shamaal thanked the Bangladesh Army Chief for accepting his invitation. He also thanked General Aziz Ahmed for sending a medical team of the Bangladesh Army to the Maldives with medicines and necessary equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his speech, General Aziz Ahmed said that the Bangladesh Army under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has become a very smart and professional force to realize the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
General Aziz Ahmed expressed the view that other expert teams including the Engineering Corps of the Bangladesh Army could play a role in the development of various infrastructures in the Maldives.
Both the Maldivian Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense Forces expressed interest in sending troops to the Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) to train members of the Maldivian Armed Forces in various higher military educational institutions. He hoped that this would further strengthen the military ties between the two countries.
Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed discussed with the Maldives Defense Force to conduct of joint counter-terrorism exercises conducted by the Bangladesh Army with the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and India.
Later, General Aziz Ahmed visited the Bangladesh High Commission in the Maldives and met with the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives and other senior officials.
The visit of the Chief of Army Staff is expected to further strengthen the friendly diplomatic relations between the two countries besides the Maldivian and Bangladeshi armies.
