The concluding ceremony of the joint drill between the armies of the two countries was held at Bangabandhu Cantonment where Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das spoke as the chief guest.

In her speech, the Indian envoy highlighted the special ties between the two nations.

A total of 60 officers, 20 JCOs and 260 members of other ranks from armies of both the countries took part in the training session that began on March 1 under the supervision of 19th Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army, said an ISPR release.

The exercise was aimed to strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and cooperation between Bangladesh and Indian armies and enrich from each other’s experience while carrying out counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations, added the release.

For the first time in the history of "Exercise SAMPRITI" series, both the armies undertook exercise related to relief/response operations related to natural disasters -- earthquake, flood etc.

The joint exercise was first held in Assam, India in 2011 and since then both the countries have been hosting the exercise alternatively.

Last year, the exercise was conducted at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte in Mizoram.

The holding of such joint exercises is symbolic of the strong defence cooperation between the two countries.