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Bangladesh and India will hold the first-ever coordinated patrol (CORPAT) between their navies on June 27 in Chittagong.

Visiting Indian Navy chief and his Bangladeshi counterpart will jointly inaugurate the opening edition. 

Two Indian Navy ships and aircraft will arrive in Chittagong on Monday to take part in CORPAT. 

The neighbours have agreed to make the coordinated patrol an annual feature between their navies, reports The Hindu.

In a statement, the Indian Navy said the commencement of CORPAT “is a major step towards enhanced operational interaction between both navies.”

It said, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba’s visit was to “consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.”

Lanba arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on an invitation from his Bangladesh counterpart Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed.