KATHMANDU: As many as 1,385 security personnel, including Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and others, have received security and defense training with the support of the United States in the last five years, documents have shown.

The US Department of Defense and the State Department’s Foreign Military Training Report show that a lot of security personnel, officials and civil society members have participated in various training in the US from 2016 to 2020.

Reports say as many as 323 US troops and more than 2,300 Nepalese soldiers participated in 31 exercises from 2003 to 2015.

The US government has spent more than Rs 1.44 billion on those programs, according to the report.

The programs and exchanges of training between the US and Nepal are considered an “important part of the military relationship” between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the exercises were part of military diplomacy between the two countries.

The US Embassy in Kathmandu stated that “training on a variety of subjects is being conducted at various US institutions and they are part of military diplomacy”.

According to the Embassy, such training exchanges began in the 1970s and involved participants from various sectors, including the military, police, defense and civil society.

According to the annual report on foreign military training, between 2016 and 2020, the United States had the largest number of such exchanges with Afghanistan and Pakistan among South Asian countries.

“US Army is an outstanding most powerful land force in the world. Military to military cooperation and security diplomacy is vital for Nepal with the only superpower,” said Binoj Basnyat, Nepali Army Major General (Retd.) and a security analyst.

Basnyat argued that curtailing security cooperation will be politically detrimental, diplomatically counter-productive, economically dispirited, and for the Nepali Army disheartening as it will reduce the ongoing strides to modernization and capabilities enhancement.

He added that the exchange of knowledge and experience through an educational program and joint military with the latest researched work by the US Army has always assisted the military officers to lead and the troops to learn.

Another field that has been instrumental in enhancing Nepal’s foreign policy is Peacekeeping operations in which the NA participates, he said adding that Nepal and US security diplomacy is in the interest of Nepal.

The programs with Nepal focus on humanitarian and natural disasters, institutional and security sector reform, military commercialization, and commitment to human rights values, according to the report on the State Department’s website.

According to Narayan Silwal, Spokesperson of the Nepali Army, participating in such defense training helps in enhancing professional skills.

Training related to humanitarian assistance and disaster response, peace building and capacity building in various fields is being exchanged with the United States, he said.

Apart from that, various educational exchanges and English language training are also conducted.

Meanwhile, the United States is to provide additional M28 aircraft, as well as tailored training on demand for the Nepali Army, “to more effectively protect the Nepali people.”

The US handed over two M28 Skytrucks to the Nepali Army in December 2019, representing the first part of one of the largest security grants to Nepal in history, the US Embassy in Kathmandu has said.

A short take-off and landing (or STOL) airplane, the Skytruck is one of the best-suited airplanes for Nepal’s geography.

Two more are coming, Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) Prabhu Ram Sharma had told the International Committee of the Federal Parliament last week.

Giving the Nepali Army the crucial ability to pre-position aircraft, these M28s will revolutionize the overall capacity of Nepal’s humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, the Embassy has said.

“These initiatives demonstrate the collaborative and close partnership between our two countries – for strengthening Nepal’s long-term sustainability, security, and resilience,” it said.

Such exchanges are significant in understanding what security organs around the world are at risk.

Meanwhile, between 100 and 150 US troops visit Nepal each year for various training and exchanges, sources have said.

A joint training called Balance Nail has been conducted between the Nepal Army and the US Army since the 1990s, according to the Nepal Army’s website.

The training has been focused on the Nepal Army’s Special Forces Ranger Battalion since 2003.

According to the website, a team from the US Army in Okinawa, Japan, a team from Utah and Washington State, and a group from the Air Force in Japan also visited Nepal for training.

Likewise, the Mustang High-Altitude and Mountain Warfare School, set up in 1975, has also a quota of training for US troops.