Army chief returns from the Maldives

After an official visit to the Maldives, Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed returned home on Monday morning.

He went to the Maldives on 2 June at the invitation of the Chief of the Defense Forces of the Maldives, Major Major General Abdullah Shamaal, says a press release.

During the visit, he 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 Mariya Ahmed Didi.

The meeting discussed ways to further strengthen mutual cooperation and good relations between the two countries.

Mariya Ahmed Didi mentioned about the contribution of Bangladeshi citizens living in the Maldives in various fields. She sought the assistance of the Bangladesh Army in enhancing its response to various natural disasters in the Maldives and enhancing its rescue capabilities.

Later, General Aziz Ahmed attended a bilateral meeting with the Chief of Defense Forces Major General Abdullah Shamal and other senior officials at the Maldives Defense Forces Headquarters.

General Abdullah Shamal thanked the Bangladesh Army Chief for sending a medical team of the Bangladesh Army to the Maldives with medicines and necessary equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is to be noted that at present an army medical team of 18 people from the government of Bangladesh is providing corona vaccination activities in Maldives and is playing a special role in the vaccination activities of Bangladeshis in 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.

Aziz Ahmed discussed with the Maldives Defense Force the conduct of joint counter-terrorism exercises conducted by the Bangladesh Army with the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and India.