General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff, Indian Army

General Manoj Pande, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) has proceeded on a two-day visit to Bangladesh from June 5-6, 2023. During the visit, the Army Chief will be meeting the senior military leadership of Bangladesh where he will discuss avenues for further enhancing Indo-Bangladesh defence relations.

On June 6, the COAS will be reviewing the Passing Out Parade (POP) of officer cadets of the 84th Long Course at the Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA), Chattogram. During the parade, the Army Chief will be presenting the ‘Bangladesh India Friendship Trophy’ instituted for Best Foreign Cadet (from Friendly Foreign Countries) of the Passing Out Course from BMA. The first trophy, this year is being awarded to Officer Cadet Everton of Tanzania. This trophy is in reciprocation to ‘Bangladesh Trophy and Medal’ instituted at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun in December 2021 for Best Foreign Cadet of Passing Out Course. Notably, the Army Chief will be reviewing the POP at IMA, Dehradun on June 10, 2023 and present the Bangladesh Medal & Trophy.

Other engagements of the Army Chief include, formal interactions with the Chief of Army Staff, Bangladesh Army and the Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division apart from briefings by senior Bangladesh Military officers on bilateral cooperation issues.

The COAS visited Bangladesh in July 2022, on his first foreign visit after his assumption as Army Chief. The Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff visited India in April this year and reviewed the Passing Out Parade at Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Frequent visits by senior military leaders and bilateral cooperation events such as joint military exercises contribute to enhancing military-to-military relations between both nations.