KATHMANDU: Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth is scheduled to receive the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army from President Ram Chandra Paudel at a special ceremony at Sheetal Niwas later today.
General Seth arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday afternoon aboard an Air India flight for a four-day official visit to Nepal. This is his first foreign visit since he assumed command of the Indian Army on June 30, 2026.
He is leading a five-member delegation, which includes his spouse, Komal Seth. The delegation was received at Tribhuvan International Airport by Lieutenant General Pradeep Jung KC and his spouse.
The honorary rank will be conferred in continuation of a longstanding bilateral tradition dating back to 1950, under which Nepal and India confer the highest honorary military rank on each other’s army chiefs.
As part of the same tradition, Nepali Army Chief of Army Staff General Ashok Raj Sigdel was conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army by Indian President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on December 12, 2024.
During his four-day visit, General Seth will hold formal bilateral talks with General Sigdel at the Army Headquarters and pay tribute by laying a wreath at the Military Pavilion in Tundikhel.
He is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who currently holds the defense portfolio. According to the Directorate of Public Relations and Information of the Nepali Army, such high-level exchanges between the two militaries are important for strengthening defense cooperation and further deepening the strategic ties between Nepal and India.
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