DHAKA, Bangladesh – U.S. Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., the Commander of United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) attended the dedication ceremony, July 8, 2017, for the new multi-purpose training facility as part of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) in Gazipur and in support of the U.S. State Department’s Global Peace Operations Initiative or GPOI program. U.S. Ambassador Marcia Bernicat and Bangladesh Army Chief General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq also made comments.

The new $3.6 million multi-purpose training facility provides the BIPSOT with a 750 seat auditorium and additional training rooms, and was part of nearly $5 million in U.S. Government assistance allocated to enhance Bangladesh’s capacity to effectively train and conduct United Nations and regional peace support operations.

The BIPSOT will be the site for the Bangladesh Army and USPACOM co-sponsored Multinational Peacekeeping Exercise Shanti-Doot 4, scheduled to begin late February into early March of next year. The exercise is designed to increase participants’ interoperability and peacekeeping skills prior to deployment of UN missions.

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of Bangladesh’s entry into UN Peacekeeping and Bangladesh is currently the fourth highest contributing nation with more than 6,900 troops and police serving in 13 UN peace keeping operations.