Early In September, Indian Army Chief Will Visit Nepal To Strengthen Defence Ties

In the first week of September, Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande will visit Kathmandu, according to representatives from the army and foreign ministry of Nepal.

Since been appointed to the position on April 30 of this year, this will be the first trip an Indian Army chief has made to neighbouring Nepal.

A top source in Nepal’s foreign ministry told India Narrative on Sunday, under the condition of anonymity, “We have received communication from the Indian side that General Pandey will be here from September 5 to 7.” The administration and army are currently preparing for the visit, he added.

The Indian Army chief is visiting Nepal, according to Narayan Silwal, a spokesman for the Nepali Army. “Yes, he is on his way. A suitable moment would be chosen to make the official announcement, “He disclosed to India Narrative.

According to officials with knowledge of the visit, the two sides plan to talk about a range of bilateral defence cooperation issues, including logistical support for the Nepali Army.

“The Indian Army has already received a request for logistical help, including two combat helicopters, from the Nepali Army. During the visit, we are hoping that the Indian side would make a pronouncement “India Narrative was informed by a second source from the Nepali Ministry of Defense.

According to Nepal Army headquarters, Pande, who was appointed as the 29th Army Chief of India, will get the honorary title of Nepali Army from Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari while she is in the country.

Giving each other’s Army Chiefs the honorary rank of General has continued to be a tradition between Nepal and India.

Prabhu Ram Sharma, the Chief of the Nepali Army Staff, visited India in November of last year at the invitation of General Pande, his Indian counterpart. Ram Nath Kovind, a former Indian president, presented General Sharma with the honorary title of Chief of the Indian Army during a special event at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.

Since 1950, the two countries that are next to each other have observed the custom.

At 1950, in Kathmandu, General KM Cariappa became the first Indian Army Chief to hold the honorary title of Nepali Army Chief.

Since then, 17 Nepali army commanders have travelled to India, while 21 Indian army leaders have visited Nepal.

The leaders of the Indian and Nepali armies have maintained their formal and informal interactions for years.

Finally, on May 4, the head of the Indian Army and his counterpart from Nepal, Sharma, conducted a video conference to discuss enhancing their countries’ mutual military cooperation.

The Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), General Manoj Pande had a video interaction with General Prabhu Ram Sharma, Chief of Army Staff, Nepali Army, today. Both the Generals discussed aspects of bilateral Defence Cooperation

(Pic Source: Indian Army) pic.twitter.com/8MlHgDRQsp

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2022

During their meeting in New Delhi in June last week, Dr. Shanker Prasad Sharma, the ambassador of Nepal to India, also brought up General Pande’s upcoming trip to Nepal.

According to experts, the military-to-military ties between the two nations have long been the cornerstone of their otherwise strong relations.

“The foundation of the otherwise strong relations between these two nations is the relationship between the Indian Army and the Nepali Army. The Nepal Army’s leaders and soldiers take part in numerous professional military training programmes in India. In addition, many have close ties to family members who are currently serving in the Indian Army or have previously served in it .

Since 2012, 30 man platoon-sized joint military drills between Nepali and Indian army forces have mostly concentrated on counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.

Possibility to talk about the regional security situation in light of shifting geopolitics

The next visit by the head of the Indian Army will provide the two military a chance to talk about regional security issues in light of China’s increasing aggressiveness along the Line of Actual Control between India and China, experts said yesterday.

The visit will also be significant from a geopolitical standpoint because China and the United States have recently made great efforts to woo Nepal into joining their alliance by providing it with financial and military support.

A combined military exercise between India and the United States that is set to take place in the middle of October at Auli in the Indian State of Uttarakhand is also being attentively watched in Nepal.

According to reports, the India-US joint exercise would concentrate on high-altitude military training and will be held fewer than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from India’s contentious border with China.