Rajnath Singh meets Nepal's Army chief; discusses bilateral defence & security cooperation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, 11 November, met with Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff General Prabhu Ram Sharma, a day after the latter was conferred the honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army’ by President Ram Nath Kovind. While taking to Twitter, the Office of Raksha Mantri informed about the meet and also stated that the two discussed matters related to bilateral defence and security cooperation.

It is to mention that General Sharma is currently on a four-day visit to India in a bid to explore ways to further deepen defence cooperation between the two nations. According to PTI, Defence Ministry officials said that matters relating to bilateral defence and security cooperation were figured in the meeting between Rajnath Singh and General Sharma. 

Earlier on Thursday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishakar also met General Sharma. The EAM said that Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff’s visit underlines the closeness of the relationship between New Delhi and Kathmandu. 

Nepal’s Army Chief’s visit to India 

Nepal’s Army Chief has already held talks with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, General Naravane and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari in the last couple of days. In continuation of a tradition that started in 1950, General Sharma was conferred with the honorary rank of 'General of the Indian Army' by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday. Last year, Nepal too had conferred the honorary rank of ‘General of Nepal Army’ to India Army Chief General MM Navarane during his visit to Kathmandu. 

General Sharma arrived on a four-day visit to India at the official invitation of Chief of Army Staff, General Naravane. During his visit to India, General Sharma met his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Tuesday, 9 November. The chief of Army staff of both the nations discussed bolstering "defence cooperation" between Nepal and India. On his arrival at South Block, General Prabhu Ram Sharma was given a warm welcome by General MM Naravane.

(With inputs from PTI)