Visa facilitation, defense cooperation stressed in Army Chief’s meetings with Canadian side

Bangladesh and Canada have discussed ways to explore new horizons for enhancing the bilateral relationship in multifarious aspects.

Bangladesh highlighted the importance of "facilitating and expediting" student visas for Bangladeshi students as well as visas for both serving and former military officials

The discussions also paved the way for "enhanced" defense cooperation, particularly in expanding training exchanges between military institutions.

The issues were discussed during Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Waker-Uz-Zaman's visit to Canada.

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He was received by Ajit Singh, Director of the Privy Council Office of Canada and High Commissioner-designate of Canada to Bangladesh, upon his arrival in Ottawa on October 23.

Both the Army Chief and the High Commissioner-designate discussed addressing visa-related issues for all Bangladeshi citizens.

During the visit, Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh, met with Lieutenant-General Stephen R. Kelsey, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada, and Salma Zahid MP, Vice-Chair of the Canada-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group and Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, in Ottawa.

Salma Zahid, MP, met with General Waker-Uz-Zaman in the morning of 23 October and discussed areas of mutual interests.

In particular, General Waker-Uz-Zaman highlighted the importance of facilitating and expediting student visas for Bangladeshi students as well as visas for both serving and former military officials.

He highlighted the interim government’s priority of youth development and sought Canada's assistance in this regard by facilitating more student visas citing the mutual benefits for both the countries.

Salma Zahid acknowledged the challenges in this regard due to Canada’s existing housing shortage.

She encouraged Bangladeshi students to apply to designated institutions in Canada for expeditious visa processing and reaffirmed her commitment to finding solutions to address the current limitations on foreign student admissions.

The exploration of joint collaboration in educational exchange programs and the potential signing of an MoU between Canadian and Bangladeshi universities were also discussed.

In addition, they discussed opportunities for cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure development.

General Waker-Uz-Zaman proposed collaboration to address Canada’s housing crisis.

In addition, the Army Chief mentioned Bangladesh’s readiness in assisting Canada in its healthcare sector, including through providing caregivers to Canada.

In a separate meeting with Lieutenant-General Kelsey, General Waker-Uz-Zaman advocated for streamlining visa processing for both serving and retired Bangladeshi military personnel.

He emphasized the need for a systematic approach for visa issuance and proposed to address individual cases if there are queries through bilateral consultations without generalizing or stereotyping, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada.

The Chief of Army Staff emphasized increasing collaboration through officer exchanges at the National Defence College (NDC) and staff colleges, aimed at strengthening the professional development of military personnel from both nations.

Nahida Sobhan, High Commissioner for Bangladesh to Canada, participated in both the meetings along with Brigadier General S M Asadul Haque and Major Md Shoaib Rifat Aumy.