Parrikar to visit B’desh, first by an Indian defence minister

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will on Wednesday embark on a two-day visit to Bangladesh during which he will call on the top leadership there and firm up defence cooperation initiatives ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s trip here next month.

Parrikar, who will be the first Indian Defence Minister to visit Bangladesh, will call on President Abdul Hamid in Dhaka on Wednesday and hold talks with the Security Advisor to Prime Minister, officials said.

On December 1, the Minister, who will be accompanied by the Vice Chiefs of the Army and Air Force, Deputy Chief of Navy besides Coast Guard chief, will visit the military academy in Chittagong and meet Hasina, who also holds the defence portfolio.

Top Defence Ministry officials said the focus of the trip was to deepen security ties and firm up a defence cooperation agreement that is likely to be signed when Hasina visits here around December 17.

They said that Parrikar was originally scheduled to travel to Bangladesh much earlier this month but the visit was delayed.

They also ruled out any link between the visit and the sale of two submarines by China to Bangladesh.