Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet Admiral Stephen T. Koehler today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and highly praised Bangladesh's contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping missions, particularly in Africa. The two sides, during the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office at the Secretariat, discussed humanitarian assistance, disaster management, bilateral naval cooperation and ways to further strengthen Bangladesh-US relations, said PM's Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin. Shadhin said the meeting discussed humanitarian assistance and Bangladesh's capacity and contributions to disaster management. The Premier recalled the US-led 'Operation Sea Angels' launched following the devastating cyclone that struck Bangladesh in 1991. Admiral Koehler highlighted Bangladesh's participation in various naval exercises and said the next Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise will be held in Bangladesh in November. He also referred to Bangladesh's participation in the 'Sea Vision Exercise' in Singapore and expressed hope that Bangladesh would regularly take part in the 'Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)' exercise and other training programmes in the future. The meeting also reviewed the progress and mutual understanding on the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between Bangladesh and the United States. The Bangladesh side reaffirmed that it attaches great importance to its relations with the United States and expressed interest in further deepening bilateral ties through broader and more contemporary cooperation, the deputy press secretary added. Admiral Koehler said Bangladesh and the United States have ample opportunities to work together and voiced optimism that relations between the two countries would continue to grow stronger. The Prime Minister said "Bangladesh has always stood for peace across the world."  Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir, Defence Adviser Brig Gen (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen, Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Tareq Md Ariful Islam, Director General of the North America Wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other senior officials were present during the meeting.