Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff pays courtesy call on Maldives Defence Minister Mariya

Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Aziz Ahmed meets with Maldives Minister of Defence Mariya Didi

Malé, Maldives – Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Aziz Ahmed paid a courtesy call on Minister of Defence Uza. Mariya Didi on Thursday morning.

The meeting was held at MNDF Integrated Headquarters in Bandaara Koshi.

The Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Aziz Ahmed conveyed warm greetings and best wishes to President Solih, the Government and people of Maldives on behalf of the Honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, the people of Bangladesh and himself.

Minister Mariya shared warm greetings and gratitude on behalf of President and Commander-in-Chief His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to General Aziz for making the visit, even in this difficult pandemic-stricken time.

Discussions focused on boosting the close ties of Defence Cooperation between the Maldives and Bangladesh, including in the areas of capacity-building in Disaster Relief operations and Anti-Human Trafficking efforts, increasing allotments for Maldivian doctors at the Armed Forces Medical College and training opportunities for Maldivian military personnel.

Minister Mariya thanked General Aziz Ahmed and the Government and friendly people of Bangladesh for the generous assistance rendered to the Maldives in times of need, ranging from the 2004 Tsunami to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

General Aziz Ahmed arrived in the Maldives at the invitation of Chief of Defence Force of Maldives Major General Abdulla Shamaal with a 9-member delegation of the Bangladesh Army.

During the visit, he has visited the Maldives National Defense Forces Headquarters (MNDF Headquarters), various military installations and institutions.

Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed is also expected to visit the Bangladesh High Commission in the Maldives and pay a courtesy call on the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives and other senior officials.

There are currently 80,000 Bangladeshi expatriates are currently working in the Maldives.