The New Nation - Internet Edition

Agencies

Army chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed has met India's top political and military leaders to find specific ways to boost defence, transport and trade ties between the two neighbours.

Gen Moeen has also agreed for Bangladesh to finally honour Indian Army soldiers who died for Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971.

The agreement was made during Moeen's meeting with Indian Chief of Army Staff Gen Deepak Kapoor.

Moeen left Delhi Tuesday morning to visit the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal Pradesh after 'fruitful' discussions with India's top political and military leaders.

Ahmed is scheduled to stop by in Kotkata on February 29. He will fly to Calcutta on his return where he will meet Bhattacharjee that evening. It is likely that Ahmed will also visit Santiniketan.

In Kolkata, the chief minister and the army chief are expected to explore issues that Ahmed might suggest to his army-backed interim government on his return to Dhaka. The communist leader and the general are not known to have met in the past.

From Dehra Dun, Moeen was scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Ajmer Sharif shrine and then the coastal state of Goa. He would then visit Kolkata on January 29.

In Kolkata Moeen is scheduled to visit the Eastern Command of the Indian Army and hold a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya and discussions on starting India-Bangladesh train service. He has also expressed his desire to visit the Shantiniketan.

A top official of the Indian foreign ministry said bilateral talks between the Bangladesh Army chief and top Indian political and military leaders would build up the momentum for better relations between the two countries.

"We attach a lot of importance to Gen Moeen's visit, which would shape bilateral ties during the coming days," said.

Gen Moeen, who is on a six-day visit to the neighbouring country, said on Monday that he expects the Dhaka-Kolkata train service to start in next two-three months.

Moeen also met India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh on Monday and discussed various possibilities to further improve trade and commerce between India and Bangladesh.

He was informed that the final notification on the duty-free export of 8 million pieces of readymade garments from Bangladesh would be issued soon.

Gen Moeen and Gen Kapoor held extensive discussions on the possible ways for further promoting cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries in areas including training, sharing of experience in disaster management, advanced information sharing on floods and tsunami and participation of troops of the two countries in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

Gen Moeen also held discussion with the Indian Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju where ideas regarding training of armed forces personnel at each other's training institutions, capacity building in the area of specialised treatment at medical institutions, sharing of experience on disaster management and greater interaction on matters relating to participation of the troops of the two countries in UN Peacekeeping Operations came up.

Gen Moeen's visit is the first by any Bangladesh Army chief. The Indian Army chief visited Bangladesh in 2001.

Moeen is being accompanied by his wife and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 66 Infantry Division Major General Syed Fatemi Ahmed Rumi and Director (Training) of Army Headquarters Brigadier General Md Anisuzzaman Bhuiyan.