KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the supreme commander of the Nepali Army (NA), is conferring the rank of honorary chief of the NA on Chief of Indian Army Staff General Manoj Pande amid a special function at the Office of the President at Sheetal Niwas today afternoon.

It has been a customary practice between armies of the two neighbors to confer the title to each other’s army chiefs since 1950 as a symbol of good military ties.

Indian Army Chief Pande arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday afternoon leading a five-member delegation on a five-day visit to Nepal.

General Pande, who arrived in Nepal at the invitation of Nepali Army Chief of Army Staff General Prabhuram Sharma, will also pay homage at the Brave Soldier Memorial at Sainik Manch Tundikhel and interact with cadets of the Command and Staff College, apart from civil programs such as plantation and others.

The Indian Army Chief will also hold an official meeting with Prime Minister and Minister for Defense, Sher Bahadur Deuba, during the visit. He is scheduled to call on PM Deuba on Tuesday.

It is said that during the visit, Indian Army Chief Pandey will also hand over cannon maintenance parts, horses, explosives-resistant vehicles and necessary equipment for mobile hospitals worth about Rs 220 million to the Nepali Army.

The Indian Army and Nepali Army share a five-decade-old tradition of conferring the honorary title of the General of each other’s armies. So far, 21 Indian and 17 Nepali Army Generals have received this honor.