General MM Naravane will be conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane’s upcoming visit to Nepal will deepen the long-standing friendship between both armies, the Indian Embassy in Nepal said on Tuesday.

“In reply to several media queries regarding the upcoming official visit of COAS of India from 4th Nov, the Indian Embassy's spokesperson Mr. Naveen Kumar said that Gen. MM Naravane's visit would deepen the long-standing and customary bonds of friendship between the two Armies,” the official handle of the Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted.


Gen Naravane will be reaching Nepal on November 4. He will be conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army in an investiture ceremony.

As per the tradition of decorating the chiefs of each other’s armies with the highest Army rank, Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will confer the honorary rank upon Gen. Naravane in the ceremony.

The Indian embassy spokesperson further said that Gen Naravane’s visit will provide an opportunity for India and Nepal to discuss the bilateral defense partnership.

“His visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss the bilateral defense partnership and explore avenues to further strengthen it for mutual benefit,” a subsequent tweet by the Indian embassy in Nepal read.

As part of its ‘Neighborhood First policy’, India has begun several projects with the Himalayan nation aside from helping the country in its fight against COVID-19.

Recently, India, under the long-standing High Impact Community Development Projects, helped in the construction of a school building in Nepal. This had been cited as an example of robust cooperation between the two countries in the eductionatin sector.

As a part of providing infrastructure development assistance to Nepal, India in October, gifted Nepal 41 ambulances and 6 school buses to government and Non-Profit organizations in around 30 districts of the neighboring country to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier in September, India handed over two modern trains to Nepal that would run between Jaynagar in Bihar and Kurtha in Dhanusa district from mid-December.

Besides, the government data suggests that the total bilateral trade between the two nations reached a high of US $8.27 billion in the Financial Year 2018 to 2019. While India imported goods worth US $508 million, the Indian exports to Nepal stood at US $7.76 billion.