Indian Army Chief Naravane arrives in Kathmandu

Kathmandu / Nov 4 : Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, General Manoj Mukund Naravane has arrived here today on a three-day visit to Nepal. He arrived here on the formal invitation of Chief of the Army Staff Purna Chandra Thapa.

Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Prabhu Ram Sharma received the Indian Army Chief at Tribhuvan International Airport, Army spokesman Santosh Ballabh Poudel said.

General Naravane has come here to accept the Honorary General of the Nepali Army in keeping with the tradition of the Nepali and the Indian Army of conferring the rank of Honorary General on each other’s the Chief of the Army Staff.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari is scheduled to confer the rank of Honorary General on the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, Naravane, on Thursday. On the occasion, General Naravane will hold talks with President Bhandari.

Naravane is the 18th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army to be conferred the rank of Honorary General.

The Army spokesman said the main objective of General Naravane’s visit is to give continuity to the tradition.

On Thursday morning, General Naravane will pay tribute at the Veer Smarak (Memorial to the Brave Soldier) at the Army Pavilion at Tundikhel. Immediately after this, he will inspect a guard of honour at the Army Headquarters.

Also on Thursday, Chief of the Army Staff Thapa will hold official meeting with his Indian counterpart. On the occasion, the Indian Army Chief Naravane will hand over medical goods to the Nepali Army as per the agreement reached during the 13th meeting on exchange of security cooperation between the two countries.

The Nepali Army will host a dinner at the Army Headquarters in honour of the visiting Indian Army Chief on Thursday. The Indian Army chief will call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday. RSS