5 Former Army Chiefs of Indian Army to participate ‘Chief Conclave’ of the NA

The Nepal Army (NA) has once again invited India’s Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pande in Kathmandu to participate in Army Day-2079. Along with the General Pande, invitations have been sent to all retired Indian Army Generals who have been conferred with honorary title of the Nepali Army.

According to senior military official,as per the information received by late Tuesday, five retired generals of the Indian Army will come to Nepal to attend the event.

The issue of whether the India’s current Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pande will come or not is still pending, however the army has received information that four others will come along with recently retired General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

Along with General Naravane, Generals Dalbirsingh Suhag, Deepak Deepak Kapoor, Joginder Jaswant Singh, General Vishwa Nath Sharma are arriving Kathmandu on February 17 at the special ceremony of the Army Day on February 18 and to participate in the conclave to be held on the next day (February 19).

According to the army, in the conclave, along with the military attachés of the embassy in Nepal, honorary title dignitaries from India, Nepal Army then CoAS, will be present.

The Nepal Army is celebrating its 260th foundation day this year. The Army Day is celebrated every year coinciding with the Mahashivaratri festival that falls on February 18 this year.

If General Pande arrives Nepal on Army Day, it will be his second visit to Nepal. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande on September 4 had arrived Nepal on a five-day visit at the official invitation of Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Prabhu Ram Sharma.

The Indian Army has been holding Chief Conclave since so long inviting the current Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff along with the retired COAS. Though ,Nepal is about to hold the Chiefs Conclave for the first time, however, during the tenure of the then Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Gaurav Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, honorary title dignitaries were invited on Army Day.

The army will discuss regional security cooperation, security challenges, military cooperation in times of disasters and emergencies and changing security challenges in the Chief Conclave.