US Navy team meets officials

The visiting five-strong US Navy delegation, led by Vice Admiral William Landay, met top military officials in Bangladesh on Sunday.

During the meetings, they discussed matters of bilateral interests, the military’s press wing, the ISPR, said in a media statement.

It said the delegation saw Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral M Farid Habib at the Naval Headquarters, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari at the Air Headquarters, and Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division Lieutenant General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq at his office.

The delegation arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday on a three-day visit, the media release added.

The US maintains a strong maritime partnership with Bangladesh for what the US naval officials say, ‘peace and security’ of the Asia-Pacific region.

The US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Cecil Haney last month visited Bangladesh and said they would continue with the maritime partnership as trade activities of both countries depend on the sea.

He said in the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Straits, South China Sea, there were over $ 5 trillion commerce that goes through the region which is associated with the global commerce of nations in the Pacific. About $ 1.3 trillion are directly related to the US.

As part of its assistance, the US would transfer recently de-commissioned ‘coast guard cutter Jarvis’ to Bangladesh Navy later this year.

Last year, the US handed over three ‘defiant-class’ boats to Bangladesh Coast Guard to enhance its capabilities to quickly respond to natural disasters.

The US Ambassador Dan Mozena during the Admiral’s visit had said 16 more such ‘super-high performance’ boats would be given to the Coast Guard in the coming days.