KATHMANDU – Nepal will not join the first ever joint military drill amongthe armies of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) members, to be hosted by India next week, atop official said on Saturday.
“Nepal will not participate in the BIMSTEC joint military drill. This isthe official decision of the government,” said Kundan Aryal, press adviserto Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, without giving details about reasonsbehind Nepal’s decision to skip the military drill.
The joint military drill are to be organised in Pune of the western IndianState of Maharastra on Sept. 10-16.
The proposal for the joint military drill was first proposed by the IndianArmy in June, followed by an initial meeting of BIMSTEC senior armyofficials in New Delhi, the Kathmandu Post reported.
BIMSTEC, founded in 1997, is a regional bloc grouping India, Bangladesh,Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Nepal has sent only three “observers” for the “Milex-2018” exercise beinghosted by India, which will witness platoon-size contingents (over 30soldiers each) from other member countries.
Nepal army chief General Purna Chandra Thapa was also scheduled to attendthe closing ceremony of the drill but it that too has been cancelled,according to reports in Indian media.