Partnership agreement with US state finalised

A state of the United States and Bangladesh have readied an agreement under the National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) for jointly addressing security issues, an
American mission release said here yesterday.
Major General Raymond Rees, Adjutant General for the US State of Oregon and Commander of the US National Guard air and ground forces for the Pacific Rim, now in Dhaka, has presented a proclamation from Oregon Governor Kulongoski to Lieutenant General Md Abdul Mubeen, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, “affirming this commitment”, it said.
The purpose of Rees' visit is to establish a permanent partnership between the Oregon National Guard and Bangladesh under the National Guard's State Partnership Programme (SPP) at the request of the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, the release said.
The National Guard's State Partnership Programme links US states with foreign nations to promote and enhance bilateral relations.
“The SPP not only promotes military-to-military relationships but also provides a vast civilian base of professionals for enhanced military-to-civilian and civilian-to-civilian exchanges,” it said.
Under the SPP, more than 50 countries are matched with US States. The partnerships address a wide variety of “shared security issues, including border security, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, combat medical training, combating illegal drugs, military support to civilian authorities, peacekeeping operations, and port security”.
“This new SPP is a continuation of the strong bilateral cooperation between US and Bangladesh Armed Forces,” said the release from the American Centre.