On August 28, 2023, India and Bangladesh conducted their fifth Annual Defence Dialogue in Dhaka. The meeting was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and his Bangladeshi counterpart Lt Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division. This event took place during the two-day visit of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane to Bangladesh from August 27 to August 28, 2023.
At the meeting, the participants conducted a comprehensive review of the ongoing defence cooperation initiatives between India and Bangladesh. Both sides expressed contentment with the escalating level of engagement in defence cooperation. The discussions encompassed the current bilateral exercises, with mutual consensus on elevating the intricacy of these drills.
The Annual Defence Dialogue serves as the premier institutionalized platform for interaction between India and Bangladesh. Within this dialogue, both nations emphasized its critical role in shaping the trajectory of relations between their respective Armed Forces.
Giridhar Aramane and Lt Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman acknowledged the productive nature of the dialogue and emphasized the prospect of ongoing engagement based on the shared consensus established during the fifth Annual Defence Dialogue. The Armed Forces of both nations persist in their pursuit of collaborative efforts across various domains, and the heightened level of engagements signifies a promising outlook for the future bilateral relationship.
On August 11, 2022, the 4th Annual Defence Dialogue was conducted in New Delhi, with co-chairing by Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar and Lt Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman. Throughout the dialogue, in-depth deliberations took place regarding multiple facets of defence industry collaboration and capability enhancement. A shared emphasis was placed on the imperative of close collaboration to effectively execute the USD 500 million line of credit provided by India for the procurement of defence equipment.