Acting Chief of the Army Staff, Netra Bahadur Thapa welcomed Rana at the VVIP lounge at Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival in Kathmandu. At an invitation of his British counterpart Peter Wall, CoAS had left for an official visit to the UK on September 5. [break]
CoAS Rana was accompanied by Director of Directorate General of Military Training (DGMT) Major General Victor Rana and an ADC staff.
“CoAS Rana’s visit has helped to bolster the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the UK. Moreover, the visit has helped strengthening relations between the armies to take a a new height,” reads a statement issued by the NA Public Relations Directorate.
During his stay in the UK, CoAS Rana met with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, Hugo Swire, and other high-ranking officials of the British government.
During the meeting, minister Swire had highly appreciated the NA’s role during the integration of Maoists combatants into the Nepal Army. Nepali Ambassador to Britain, Suresh Chalise was also present in the meeting.
Rana also held separate meetings with British Chief of Defence Services, Nicholas Houghton and British Chief of the Army Staff, Peter Wall. British CoAS, Wall expressed willingness to support Nepal Army on a range of issues such as; disaster management, humanitarian assistance and special trainings.
During the meetings, the British Army officials assured Rana to extend cooperation and provide trainings to the NA. Rana also met with Chris Murgatroyd, a high-ranking official of the DFID. The duo discussed about the possible support from the British Government in view of forthcoming Constituent Assembly elections, the NA said in the statement.
On the occasion, Murgatroyd expressed commitment to extend support on disaster management to the NA. CoAS Rana visited the Royal College of Defence Studies and was apprised about the schooling system.
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