Kathmandu: A 21 member team from the National Defence College (NDC), India, is presently on a four day visit to Nepal from Sep 22 to 25, 2003, states a press note issued by the Indian embassy in Kathmandu.

The press release further notes: “ National Defence College of India is an apex institution engaged in the study of the higher direction of policy at the national and international level which senior military and civilian officials may be called upon to handle in the course of their careers. The course is attended by senior officers of the Indian Defence Forces and Civil Services as well as Armed Forces Officers of friendly foreign countries. At present, Brig Gen Prakash Bahadur Basnyat of the Royal Nepalese Army, is also attending this prestigious course.

As part of their curriculum, the College organises tours to neighbouring and other foreign countries to enable student officers to interact with their counterparts and to acquaint themselves with the socio-political, economic, defence and foreign policy aspects of the countries they visit. With this objective in view, the members of the NDC team will be exchanging views with senior civil and military officials during their current visit to Nepal. The visiting team will pay a courtesy call on the Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr Surya Bahadur Thapa, Chief Secretary, Mr Bimal Prasad Koirala, Foreign Secretary, Mr Madhuraman Acharya, Defence Secretary, Mr Madan Prasad Aryal, Vice Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr Shankar Sharma, SAARC Secretary General, Mr QAMA Rahim, and also meet Rt. Hon’ble General Pyar Jung Thapa, Chief of the Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army. A similar visit had taken place in 2002.

The visiting NDC Team is headed by Maj Gen Ashok Vasudeva, VSM, Senior Directing Staff (Army) of the College. Besides Indian civil and military officers, the visiting team has officers from Algeria, Thailand, Phillippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.