The father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, dreamed of building a strong three-dimensional navy to ensure economic development and safeguard the country’s independence and sovereignty.
Planning Minister MA Mannan said this as a chief guest at the closing ceremony of the Bangladesh Navy’s annual sea exercise on Wednesday, after attending the closing day rehearsals of BNS Somudra Avijan, one of the two largest ships in the Bangladesh Navy (BN), said an ISPR version.
He spoke of the ongoing efforts of the current government to fulfill Bangabandhu’s dream.
The Planning Minister said that the humanitarian aid provided by the Bangladesh Navy to local governments in coastal areas to contain the spread of coronavirus is truly commendable.
In his speech, he congratulated all naval personnel for the success of the exercise and praised the professionalism, efficiency and diligence of naval officers and sailors.
“The active role of the Bangladesh Navy during any natural disasters and in protecting the maritime borders of the country is truly commendable,” he added.
The Bangladesh Navy’s annual fleet sea exercise, “Exercise Safe Guard-2021”, has concluded with the successful launch of missiles in the Bay of Bengal.
The Chief of Bangladesh Navy, Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal was also present on the occasion.
Earlier, BN Fleet Commander Commodore Mir Ershad Ali welcomed the Planning Minister as he boarded the ship, and a well-equipped naval contingent presented a guard of honor to the main guest.
Bangladesh Navy frigates, corvettes, OPVs, minesweepers, patrol boats, missile boats and maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters participated in the 15-day exercise. Relevant maritime organizations including the Bangladesh Coast Guard, Army and Air Force also participated directly and indirectly in the exercise.
Notable aspects of the exercise, conducted in four phases, included naval drills, naval surveillance, search and rescue operations, logistics operations, landing operations and coastal naval unit defense drills.
The main themes of this annual exercise were the protection of the country’s maritime border, the protection of marine resources, the prevention of smuggling, the securing of maritime routes, the conservation of biodiversity in coastal areas and the surveillance of maritime areas. . The highlights of the last day’s drills were missile launches from Bangladesh Navy ships, anti-aircraft bombardments, rocket launches from submarine destroyers, VBSS and naval commando drills and various warfare techniques naval.
