Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat in Nepal for Nepali Army Day

Indian Army chief of staff General Bipin Rawat arrived in the Nepalese capital late on Monday to attend the Army Day of Nepal.

Nepal will celebrate its' Army Day on the day of Shivaratri on Tuesday, the festival or the night that is devoted to Lord Shiva.

The country on Tuesday will be celebrating its 250th year of unification as a nation, which was initiated by the late King Prithvi Narayan Shah.

General Rawat, who arrived on a three-day visit, on the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Rajendra Chhetri, will be amongst the chief guests at the Nepal Army Day parade at Tundikhel playground in central Kathmandu.

This year, the Indian Army band will be performing along with the Nepal Army, on the occasion of the Nepal Army Day.

The Nepalese army officials acknowledged that it is the first time that the head of the military staff will be attending the Army Day parade as the chief guest, though no official records are kept.

After attending the parade, General Rawat will have a courtesy call on the President of Nepal, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba and Defence Minister of Nepal, Bhimsen Das Pradhan.

Prior to the visit of General Rawat, British and American Chief of Army Staffs and other senior officials came on a visit to the Himalayan nation.

But amongst all, the visit of General Rawat is being kept at the centre as Nepal will be soon having a new government under the leftist leadership after successfully conducting the three-tier election within a year and a half.

Last year, General Rawat was conferred the title of honourary general of the Nepal Army by President Bhandari.

The visit comes after External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj visited the Himalayan nation on February 1 and 2.

By Binod Prasad Adhikari

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