Discussions have been held on enhancing close ties of defense cooperation between Maldives and Bangladesh.

Minister of Defense and National Security Mariya Ahmed Didi engaged in discussions with the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh, General Aziz Ahmed who paid a courtesy call on the minister, on Thursday.

The pair touched down on increasing training opportunities for Maldivian military personnel during the talks.

Further, the Maldivian minister conveyed gratitude to General Aziz for paying the visit during such a difficult time where Covid-19 pandemic is steadily sweeping across the globe.

In turn General Aziz conveyed best wishes to the Maldivian president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as well as the people of the island nation on behalf of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Touching down on ways to boost the close ties of defense cooperation, Minister Mariya and General Aziz noted that defense cooperation may be enhanced in areas of capacity-building in disaster-relief operations as well as anti-human trafficking efforts.

Discussions also revolved around increasing the share for Maldivian doctors at the Armed Forces Medical College

The meeting saw Minister Mariya expressing gratitude to General Aziz and the government of Bangladesh for the generous assistance offered to the Maldives in times of crisis and need, including during the current pandemic as well as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Military Secretary to the minister BG Abdul Matheen Ahmed, Principal Director of DIDC LTC Hussain Fairoosh and Director of Anti-Human Trafficking Ali Jaishan Amir joined the meeting, held at the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Integrated Headquarters, ‘Bandaara Koshi’.