Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman returned to Bangladesh on Friday (25 October) following his official visit to the United States and Canada. During the trip, he held key meetings with senior military and civilian officials, including the Chief of the United States Army and senior Canadian military officials, as well as important United Nations personnel engaged in peacekeeping missions.
On 17 October, the army chief visited the United Nations headquarters in New York, where he met with Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris, and Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohammed Khaled Khiari, among other senior officials, said a press release.
The meetings focused on strengthening Bangladesh's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, with an emphasis on expanding Bangladeshi representation in policy-making and command roles. The UN leaders highly commended the contributions of Bangladeshi peacekeepers, particularly members of the Armed Forces, to global peace efforts.
General Waker-Uz-Zaman outlined Bangladesh's commitment to ensuring that peacekeepers with substantiated human rights allegations against them would not be selected for missions.
During discussions, General Waker-Uz-Zaman highlighted the ongoing initiatives of the Bangladesh Army under the guidance of the interim government, emphasizing the socio-economic and peace efforts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
He also informed officials about Bangladesh’s peacekeeping contingents, which operate hospitals and clinics in mission areas to provide essential healthcare services to local communities.
Bangladesh’s peacekeeping training exchange, operational capacity-building, and joint mission coordination were other key topics of discussion, with UN officials acknowledging Bangladesh’s strong commitment to peacekeeping missions.
In Washington, D.C., on 22 October, General Waker-Uz-Zaman met with the United States Army Chief of Staff General Randy A. George at the Pentagon. Their discussions covered topics such as UN peacekeeping missions, training assistance, bilateral relations, regional security cooperation, and post-disaster humanitarian support.
The army head also met with Dr. Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, to discuss future plans for enhanced collaboration between Bangladesh and Indo-Pacific nations. Present at the meeting were key U.S. officials, including Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South Asia, Lindsey W. Ford.
The Army Chief also held discussions with Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, where he shared insights on Bangladesh’s security situation and the army’s various roles under government directives. Senior State Department officials attended the meeting.
During his time in Canada, General Waker-Uz-Zaman met with the Vice Chief of the Canadian Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Stephen R. Kelsey.
Discussions included the facilitation of visa processing for Bangladeshi students, active duty, and retired military personnel. He highlighted the importance of strengthening defense cooperation and proposed an exchange program between military training institutions.
General Waker-Uz-Zaman also met with Canadian MP Salma Zahid, a member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, to discuss collaborative initiatives for visa facilitation and education exchanges, along with potential memoranda of understanding between Bangladeshi universities and Canadian institutions. Furthermore, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Ajit Singh and Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Canada Nahida Sobhan paid courtesy visits to the Army Chief.
General Waker-Uz-Zaman embarked on this official tour of the United States and Canada on 15 October.
