On the occasion of the visit of Admiral Shuichi Iwanami, Commandant, Japan Coast Guard, to attend the 14th Head of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM), to be held in Dhaka on October 23-27 hosted by Bangladesh Coast Guard, a reception was held at the official residence of Ambassador Hiroyasu Izumi on October 24.
(From left to right; Ambassador Hiroyasu Izumi, Rear Admiral Aurangzeb Choudhury, Director General, Bangladesh Coast Guard, Admiral Shuichi Iwanami, Commandant, Japan Coast Guard)
Having hosted HACGAM members from 17 countries and a region, including Rear Admiral Aurangzeb Choudhury, Director General, Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG), Ambassador Izumi reiterated the importance of cooperation among HACGAM members and organisations to promote safe and secure shipping in the region, as well as good order and law enforcement at sea. He also introduced Japan’s assistance to enhance maritime law enforcement capacity and disaster prevention in various countries such as grant aid to provide rescue boats to BCG.
HACGAM aims at the construction and development of capacities in coast guard organisations for the whole region on maritime security and safety. HACGAM was first held in 2004 based on a proposal by Japan, and has been held almost every year since then.