Even as Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman is on an official visit to China, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) in the Armed Forces Division (AFD) Lieutenant General S M Kamrul Hassan today left for Bangkok to attend a US Army-hosted Indo-Pacific Chief’s of Defence Conference to be held at the Thai capital between August 26 and 28.
Gen Zaman flew to the Chinese capital on the invitation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), on August 21.
Lt Gen Hassan left Dhaka on a Bangladesh Biman flight (No. BG-388) along with his spouse Rahima Akhtar, a Captain and a Master Warrant Officer.
He will return to Dhaka on August 29, Bangladesh government sources said.
Jointly organised by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the United States Indo-Pacific Command, the conference, which will be held in Hua Hin in southern Thailand, will bring together senior military leaders from across the Indo-Pacific region.
The multilateral forum is expected to deliberate on the evolving regional and global security challenges, cooperative frameworks and avenues for strengthening military-to-military engagements.
However, the focus areas at Hua Hin will be on maritime security, counter-terrorism, cyber resilience, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and fostering stability in the Indo-Pacific.
While the Bangladesh Army has not issued an official statement, it is learnt that the conference’s aim is to promote mutual trust, friendship and strategic coordination among participating nations.
The dialogue is expected to address shared security challenges and encourage collective approaches to regional peace and stability.
The last CHOD conference was held on virtual mode on February 4, 2025. Hosted by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel J Paparo, this conference focused on aligning regional threat perceptions to strengthen collective security.
The last in-person CHOD conference was held in Hawaii in September 2024.
India will be represented at CHOD-2025 by Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit.
