New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS): Bangladesh Navy chief Vice Admiral Muhammad Farid Habib on Monday arrived in India on a four-day visit to review the existing cooperation between both the navies and explore future avenues, an official statement said.
Received by Indian Navy chief Admiral R.K. Dhowan, the Bangladesh Navy chief was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at South Block lawns. Both the chiefs held discussions on various issues during the day on Monday.
Vice Admiral Habib also held interactions with Director General of Coast Guard Vice Admiral H.C.S. Bisht and senior officials of the defence ministry.
He will visit the headquarters of Western Naval Command in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipyard at Kolkata.
"The naval cooperation between both navies spans a wide spectrum of maritime activities that includes Bangladesh's regular participation in multilateral naval exercise MILAN conducted by the Indian Navy at Port Blair, Navy to Navy Staff Talks, cooperation in training as well as port calls by ships to each other's ports," the statement said.
"Regular exchange of naval experts and professionals ranging from young cadets to high-level officials provide opportunities for sharing of experience and best practices," it added.
The Bangladesh Navy has been an active participant in India-initiated maritime construct Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and is scheduled to take over as chairman of IONS from 2016-2018.
It is also planning to send a ship as well as high-level delegation during the International Fleet Review in February 16 at Visakhapatnam.
Areas of cooperation that are proposed to be discussed during the visit include option of coordinated patrolling along International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), bilateral exercises between both navies, joint surveillance of Exclusive Economic Zone, cooperation in hydrography, exchange of White shipping information, measures to augment Maritime Security in Bay of Bengal, cooperation and collaboration in ship building as well as cooperation in development of Blue Economy.