Army chief returns home from USA

The chief of Bangladesh army staff General Aziz Ahmed returned home on Friday morning, wrapping up his official trip to the United States of America.

He reached Bangladesh at 10am, said an ISPR press release yesterday.

It said General Aziz left Dhaka for the US on January 29, following an invitation by his US counterpart.

During his visit, General Aziz met senior officers of the US Army and visited various military installations and training facilities. He also met important personalities related to UN peacekeeping mission, said the press release.

On February 2, he paid a visit to the deputy assistant secretary to the Office of the Secretary of Defence for Policy South and Southeast Asia and the representative of Defense Security Cooperation.

During the meeting, various issues related to bilateral cooperation between the two countries were discussed, the release added. General Aziz emphasised on sending back Rashed Chowdhury, a death row convict in Bangabandhu murder case, to Bangladesh.

On February 4, a guard of honour, on behalf of US Army chief General McConville, was presented to the chief of Bangladesh Army.

Later, General Aziz paid a courtesy call on his US counterpart and discussed ways to strengthen the relations between the armies of the two countries as well as mutual cooperation.

Last week, the army chief exchanged views with the military adviser and under-secretary-generals to the UN peacekeeping mission. During the discussion, the UN senior officials lauded the professional skills of the peacekeepers from Bangladesh.

The army chief made a promise to the senior UN officials over scaling up the strong role of Bangladesh Army in preserving world peace.

His US trip would play an important role in increasing the number of Bangladeshi members in UN peacekeeping missions, said the press release.