KATHMANDU: The French government has conferred upon Nepal Army (NA) Brigadier General Suresh Baniya and Major Prativa Thapa a French decoration for their exemplary service, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday.
On behalf of the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Ambassador to Nepal François-Xavier Léger conferred French Ministère des Armées‘s “médaille d’outre-mer avec agrafe Liban” on Brigadier General Baniya and Major Thapa at a program organized at the French Embassy in Kathmandu.
On the occasion, Ambassador Leger admired the two NA personnel for their contributions made while serving in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the camaraderie between the Nepali and the French forces.
“Nepali and French soldiers stand shoulder-to-shoulder in many peacekeeping operations around the world. Nepal is now the 2nd largest Troops Contributing Country in the in UN Peacekeeping with a contribution of 5,571 troops, including 294 female peacekeepers,” Ambassador Leger noted.
General Baniya served in the UNIFIL Force Headquarters, in Lebanon, as the Chief Civil Military Cooperation Officer from July 2018 to July 2019. Major Thapa served in the UNIFIL mission from September 26, 2018 to September 25, 2019 as the Military Staff Officer in the UNIFIL Force Headquarters.
The then French Chief of Staff of the UNIFIL recommended the French decoration on the two NA personnel for their contributions while serving in the UNIFIL Force Headquarters.
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