National Defense College delegation's study tour to the United States

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapoor discussed bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States, regional security, defense and military cooperation, and issues of mutual interest with a delegation from the National Defense College from Bangladesh.

A 24-member delegation arrived in the United States on September 9 to participate in an overseas study tour organized in the United States as part of the training for the 'National Defense Course 2026' initiated by the National Defense College of Bangladesh. 

The delegation was led by Lieutenant General Md. Faizur Rahman, Commandant of the National Defense College. As one of the most important programs of the visit, the delegation visited the US State Department on September 11. During this, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapoor welcomed the delegation and exchanged views. The exchange of views became lively with a question and answer session.

Defense Attaché Brigadier General Mohammad Monowar Hossain Khan and Minister Consular Md. Mahbubur Rahman, working at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, welcomed the delegation at the Dallas International Airport. During the visit, the delegation visited important government, military and international institutions including the US State Department, Pentagon, National Defense University, World Bank-IMF, UN Headquarters and exchanged views with relevant senior officials. On

September 14, the delegation visited the Pentagon, the US Defense Headquarters. Rear Admiral Stephen Aldridge, Deputy Director, Politico-Military Affairs (Asia) and Jay Wise, Director for South Asia (Policy) welcomed them and discussed with the delegation Bangladesh-US defense relations, military cooperation, regional security situation, defense policy and future cooperation and prospects.

After the Pentagon visit, the delegation visited the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC. At that time, Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tarek Mohammad Ariful Islam welcomed the delegation. Then he briefed the delegation about the activities of the Bangladesh Embassy in the United States. At that time, the delegation held a view-exchange meeting with all the officials of the embassy. On

 September 15, the delegation visited the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Neelkanth Mishra, Executive Director and Md. Abdur Rahman Khan, Alternate Executive Director welcomed the delegation to the World Bank. At this time, the relevant officials of the World Bank Group and the IMF Group were present and briefed on the activities of their respective departments. The delegation held a lively exchange of views with the officials of the World Bank and the IMF. The discussion covered various aspects of Bangladesh's economic development, Bangladesh's involvement with international financial institutions, development cooperation and the global economic situation. It is worth noting that this World Bank Group represents Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka.

The delegation concluded its visit to Washington, DC by visiting the National Defense University (NDU) and the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies. They were welcomed by NDU Senior Vice President Ambassador Roxanne Cabral and NESA Center Director Ambassador John Desrocher. The delegation then held formal meetings and exchanged views with Lieutenant General Md. Faizur Rahman, the head of the delegation, and Air Vice Marshal Md. Shafiqul Islam, the Senior Directing Staff, and the Senior Vice President and Director of the NESA Center. Later, the delegation participated in the 'Speaker Series' organized by the NESA Center. The discussions covered important topics such as strategic security, regional geopolitics, defense education, leadership development, and contemporary international security.

After concluding their Washington, DC activities on September 15, 2026, the delegation left for New York. On September 16, the NDC delegation visited the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Brigadier General Yakaia Diop, Chief of Staff of the Office of Military Affairs, Peacekeeping Operations Department, welcomed the delegation and briefed them in detail about the activities of their office and the UN peacekeeping operations conducted in various field missions. 

After visiting the UN Headquarters, the delegation visited the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York. The delegation was briefed about the role and activities of the mission and the important participation and challenges of Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping missions. Irene Zubaida Khan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, was present.