Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande meets Nepali counterpart in Kathmandu

Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande called on Nepal's Chief of the Army Staff General Prabhu Ram Sharma at Army Headquarters in Kathmandu on Monday.

The Indian Army is in Nepal to enhance existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

"General Manoj Pande #COAS proceeded on a four-day visit to #Nepal. The visit will provide an opportunity to enhance existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest," the Indian Army had tweeted.

This is Pande's first visit to Nepal as Chief of Army Staff (COAS). During his visit, the Army Chief will call on the President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Chief of the Army Staff of Nepalese Army General Prabhu Ram Sharma, apart from meeting with the country's senior military and civilian leadership where he will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Nepal defence relations.

Continuing a tradition of friendship between both armies, the Indian Army Chief will be conferred with the honorary rank of General of Nepal Army on September 5, 2022, in a ceremony at Sital Nivas, the official residence of the President of Nepal.

The COAS is scheduled to visit Nepal Army HQ where he will pay homage to the fallen soldiers and have interactions with the senior leadership of the Nepalese Army.

During his visit, the COAS will also interact with the student officers and faculty of the Nepal Army Command and Staff College Shivpuri.

The COAS is also scheduled to call on the Prime Minster of Nepal on September 6, 2022.

India-Nepal relations are historic, multifaceted and marked by common cultural and civilisational ties, apart from mutual respect and trust. India attaches the highest priority to its relationship with Nepal in accordance with its 'Neighborhood First' and 'Act East' policies.

This visit will provide an opportunity to take stock of the existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.Last year, Nepali Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Prabhu Ram Sharma visited India from November 9 to 12 at the invitation of former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

During his visit, General Prabhu Ram Sharma met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.General Sharma was also conferred with the honorary title of Chief of the Indian Army. Former President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army to General Sharma at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

Conferring the highest rank to the chiefs of each other's militaries is a tradition that has been followed by Nepal and India since 1950 after then Indian Army Chief General KM Cariappa visited Nepal.