Indian army chief to visit Nepal soon

Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat is slated to visit Nepal at the invitation of the Himalayan nation’s government.During his visit from March 28 to 31, the Indian army chief will be conferred the honorary rank of general of the Nepal army by Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, defence spokesman Major General Tara Bahadur Karki said yesterday.President Bhandari will confer the honorary rank on General Rawat on March 29 for his “commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering India’s long-standing and friendly ties with Nepal”, the spokesman said.It is a custom and tradition between the Indian and Nepali armies to confer this honour on each other’s chiefs to signify close and special military-to-military ties.General Rawat will also discuss bilateral military ties and other aspects of co-operation during his meeting with Nepali army chief General Rajendra Chhetri. General Rawat is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Defence Minister Bal Krishna Khand and will visit Pokhara, where India’s biggest pension camp is located, and travel to Muktinath where Nepal army runs a high-altitude military warfare training centre.Other highlights of his visit will be issues related to purchasing military hardware and software for the Nepal army. Nepal makes almost all military and defence purchases from India, including helicopters.