Bangladesh-India joint army training begins tomorrow

Bangladeshi and Indian armies will begin a fortnight-long joint training exercise tomorrow to further strengthen and broaden cooperation.

The Indian Army contingent comprising 170 personnel will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport today in Indian Air Force special aircraft IL-76 to participate in the joint training exercise, named "SAMPRITI-8".

The exercise will continue till March 15 and the contingent will depart on March 16, said a press release from High Commission of India yesterday.

“The exercise is aimed to strengthen and broaden inter-operability and cooperation between Bangladesh and Indian Army, and learn from each other's experiences in carrying out insurgency or counter terrorism operations,” it said. 

Both armies will undertake exercise related to relief/response operations during natural disasters like earthquake, flood, and so on.

This is the 8th edition of the joint training exercise which will be conducted at Bangabandhu Cantonment in Tangail.

The joint exercise was first held in Assam, India in 2011 and since then both countries have been hosting the exercise alternatively. Last year, the training exercise was conducted at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte, Mizoram.

Organising such joint exercises is symbolic of the strong defence cooperation between India and Bangladesh, added the press release.