Bangladesh, Australia seek to strengthen military cooperation

Bangladesh and Australia have stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between their armed forces through enhanced military training, technical cooperation and professional capacity-building.

The issue came up during a meeting between Australian Army Deputy Chief of Army Major General Chris Smith and Prime Minister’s Defence Adviser Brigadier General (retd) AKM Shamsul Islam at the adviser’s office at the Armed Forces Division in Dhaka Cantonment today (27 September), according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release.

According to the ISPR, the meeting focused on the longstanding historical and friendly relations between Bangladesh and Australia.

The two sides discussed professional capacity-building of their respective land forces, bilateral training programmes, technical cooperation and strengthening strategic communication.

They also emphasised increasing mutual participation in advanced military training and skills development programmes to address the challenges of modern warfare.

Major General Chris Smith praised the professionalism and contributions of the Bangladesh Armed Forces to UN peacekeeping missions.

He also expressed interest in expanding cooperation in advanced peacekeeping training and experience-sharing to contribute to global peace and stability.

The defence adviser thanked Major General Smith for the progress made in bilateral relations and military cooperation in recent years.

He expressed hope that the Australian officer’s visit would further strengthen professional ties between the Bangladesh Army and the Australian Defence Force and deepen military cooperation between the two countries.