Chittagong, Bangladesh: Lieutenant General Soe Win, Commander in Chief of the Burmese Army, visited Cox’s Bazar this morning. He stopped at a monastery to pay homage between 9:30 am -10:30am, according to a Rakhine community member who observed the visiting the Army Chief.
General Soe Win was on an official visit to Bangladesh that began November 23, according to an official statement.
“The Burma Army Chief, Lt General Soe Win, expressed his hope that Myanmar's existing friendly relations with Bangladesh would be strengthened further in the days to come,” the statement said.
“Bangladesh attaches high importance to maintaining friendly relations with all of its neighboring countries,” stressed Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
“She made the comment when the visiting Army Chief of Burma called on her at her official Ganobhaban residence in Dhaka on the morning of November 23,” the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said in briefing to reporters after the the two had met.
During the meeting, they also discussed increasing cooperation between the armed forces of the two neighboring countries, according to sources.
While discussing national and regional development issues, the Prime Minister and the Burmese General highlighted the increasing connectivity between the two countries.
Lt. Gen. Soe Win, who is also deputy commander-in-chief of Defence Services, praised Prime Minister Hasina for her leadership and said it was gratifying to see that true democracy prevailed in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Hasina is scheduled to visit Burma in the first week of December. The Army Chief told her the people of Burma as well as its government were eagerly waiting to welcome her.
“Your visit to Myanmar will add a new dimension to our two countries’ relations,” he said.
In the meeting, Ambassador-at-Large M Ziauddin, the Prime Minister’s Prress Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of Armed Forces Division Lieutenant General Abdul Wadud were also present.
