MILITARY EXERCISE IN BANGLADESH ENDS

Home » MILITARY EXERCISE IN BANGLADESH ENDS

Multinational military exercise Shantir Ogrosena was under way in Bangladesh in April 2021.

Prelims, GS-II: International Relations (India’s Neighbors, Foreign Policies affecting India’s Interests)

Shantir Ogrosena is a military exercise in which India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh participate.
The exercise in 2021 was held with the theme of ‘Robust Peace Keeping Operations’.
Military observers from the US, UK, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore were also in attendance throughout the exercise.
The aim of the exercise was to strengthen defence ties and enhance interoperability amongst neighbourhood countries to ensure effective peace keeping operations.
The Armies of all participating nations shared their wide experiences and enhanced their situational awareness through robust information exchange platforms.

The friendship between India and Bangladesh is historic, evolving over the last 50 years ever since the extension of India’s political, diplomatic, military and humanitarian support during Bangladesh’s Liberation War which resulted in Bangladesh’s independence.
Post-Independence, the India-Bangladesh relationship has oscillated with the cordial relationship being maintained until the assassination of Bangladesh’s founding President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family (except his daughters, of whom Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh), a period of military rule and the rise of General Ziaur Rahman followed.
General Ziaus Rahman became the president and was assassinated as well in 1981, following which the India-Bangladesh Relationship became more cordial between 1982-1991 under the military-led government.
Since Bangladesh’s return to parliamentary democracy in 1991, relations have gone through highs and lows with the relations becoming friendlier in the last decade (2010-2020).

On the account of the COVID-19 pandemic, India assured Bangladesh to make available vaccines for the country as and when produced in India, signifying India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
India organized events on ‘Mujib Borsho’ which is the birth centenary year of Bangladesh’s founder president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Framework of Understanding (FOU) on Cooperation in Hydrocarbon Sector; Protocol on Trans-boundary Elephant Conservation, MoU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and other agreements have also been signed between the two countries.

-Source: The Hindu