President confers rank of Honorary General of Nepali Army on Indian Army Chief

KATHMANDU: President Ram Chandra Paudel conferred the rank of Honorary General of the Nepali Army on the Indian Army CHIEF Upendra Dwivedi amidst a special ceremony organised at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Shital Niwas, today.

President Paudel, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Nepali Army, presented the insignia of the rank of Honorary General and a ceremonial ‘khadga’ or sword to the Indian Army Chief on the occasion.

Chief of the Army Staff General Dwivedi arrived in Nepal on Wednesday at the invitation of Nepal Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel.

Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Defence Minister Manbir Rai, among other distinguished persons, were present on the occasion.

As a continuation of the military relations between Nepal and India, both countries have the tradition since 1950 of conferring the rank of Honorary General upon each other’s the Chief of Army Staff.

Before this, the then President of India, Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Honorary Rank of General of the Indian Army upon then Chief of the Army Staff of the Nepali Army, Prabhu Ram Sharma on November 10, 2021.

Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari had conferred the rank of Honorary General of the Nepali Army on then Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande on September 5, 2022.

The rank of Honorary General of the Nepali Army was conferred on Indian Chief of Army Staff, General KM Cariappa, for the first time in 1950 while India for the first time conferred the rank of Honorary General of the Indian Army on the then Chief of the Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army, Surendra Bahadur Shah in 1969.

It is believed that this tradition of conferring the rank of Honorary General upon each other’s Army Chief by the two neighbor countries will play an important role for maintain cordial relations and friendship between the two armies and nations.