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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

Rousing Receptions Greet Sri Lanka's Army Chief in Bangladesh

Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, Commander of the Army, now in Bangladesh at the invitation of his counterpart in the Bangladesh Army, paid courtesy calls on Bangladesh’s Chief of Navy Staff Vice Admiral Muhammad Farid Habib and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari at their separate Headquarters in the Senakunja Station Headquarters, Dhaka Cantonment.

Chief of Navy Staff Vice Admiral Muhammad Farid Habib after a warm welcome, extended to the visiting Sri Lanka’s Army Chief, exchanged a couple of views and pleasantries with the visiting Commander of the Army and made inquiries into the post-war development roles of the services in Sri Lanka.

At the Bangladesh Air Force Headquarters, Lieutenant General Ratnayake had a short and cordial meeting with the Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari at the latter’s office where he was introduced to a couple of senior Air Force officers.

At the end of both courtesy calls, separate exchanges of mementos, took place adding significance to the visit of Sri Lanka’s Army Chief. As formalities, Lieutenant General Ratnayake was also invited to place his signature in VIP registers at both Navy and Air Force Headquarters before he continued the rest of the day’s itinerary.
    
Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, began his itinerary in Bangladesh on Sunday (19) by placing a floral wreath at the Shikha Anirban (Eternal Flame) memorial at Dhaka Cantonment in Bangladesh.

His retinue included Major General S.D.T Liyanage, General Officer Commanding, 64 Division, Brigadier A.K.P Wickramasinghe, Director Supply and Transport, Brigadier K.J Jayaweera, Director Media, Lieutenant Colonel S.A.N.D Edirisinghe, Military Assistant and Major P.K Waruwangodage, ADC to the Commander.

The Commander’s five-day itinerary in Bangladesh covered visits to the Navy and Air Force Commanders, separate visits to the Bangladesh National Defence College (NDC), Bangladesh Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), 24 Infantry Headquarters and a few other places of relevance.  

On Monday (20), the Bangladesh DSCSC in a fitting tribute to Lieutenant General Ratnayake, opened his portrait at the prestigious ‘Hall of Fame’ as a mark of respect to him for being the 3rd foreign graduate who became a Commander of an Army. On Sunday (19), General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, his host, the Chief of Bangladesh’s Army Staff during his interaction with the visiting Lieutenant General Ratnayake, sought the training assistance for raising a Women’s Corps in the Bangladesh Army, for which the Sri Lanka’s Army Chief, agreed. (See separate stories in Highlights on October 20 & 21)  
 
A smart contingent of the Bangladesh Army performed a Guard Turnout and a Guard of Honour and greeted the Sri Lanka’s Army Chief on arrival at the cantonment after the Adjutant General of the Bangladesh Army welcomed him warmly.
 

The spouse of the visiting Commander, Mrs Damayanthi Ratnayake, President, Army Seva Vanitha Unit, attended a parallel progarmme, organized by the spouse of the Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff.

A cultural evening with Bengali music with the legendary singer, Rejwana Chowdhury and Kona Kona who also added colour by singing in Sinhala, got underway as part of an entertaining feature in the agenda on Tuesday (21).

Away from the military itinerary, the visiting Commander took time off to call at Bangladesh’s Bashabo Buddha Monastery, the most popular Buddhist temple in Bangladesh, together with his spouse, Mrs Damayanthi Ratnayake and accompanying officers.  

Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake upon arrival at the temple was welcomed by the President of the Buddhist Association in Bangladesh where more than 50 Buddhist monks had gathered, together with a crowd of about 300 Buddhist devotees to receive him.

The Commander in his brief thanking address to the gathering, traced the historical ties between both nations and extended an open invitation to devotees, requesting a visit of a Buddhist delegation to Sri Lanka on pilgrimage.

During his five-day itinerary, the Commander had the rare distinction of addressing the students at Bangladesh’s NDC, DSCSC and meeting his former course mates and their spouses. In addition to his itinerary with the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Navy Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Commandants at NDC and DSCSC, General Officers Commanding, senior officers, past Army, Navy and Air Force Commanders, the visiting Commander was also hosted to dinner by the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Bangladesh.

Lieutenant General Ratnayake culminates his official commitments in Bangladesh on Thursday (23).