Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on France visit for talks with military brass
New Delhi, November 13
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Sunday left for France on a four-day visit with the aim of further strengthening the “bonds of trust” between the Indian and French armies amid the fast-evolving security matrix and the geopolitical situation.
Gen Pande will hold extensive talks with the top military brass of France, including the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Commander of the Land Combat Forces. “The Chief of the Army Staff has proceeded on a visit to France from November 14 to 17. During the four-day visit, he will be meeting his counterparts and senior military leadership of France to enhance defence cooperation,” the Army said.
Gen Pande will lay a wreath at Neuve Chapelle Indian Memorial, which commemorates the sacrifices of 4,742 Indian soldiers during the World War I. He will visit Ecole Militaire, comprising various military training establishments in Paris, and address senior staff officers attending a course at École de Guerra-T, which is a French military academy. He will also be visiting Military Schools at Draguignan, which are premier training establishments that train commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers.
The visit of the Chief of Army Staff to France comes days after Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force General Stephane Mille visited India. The French commander held talks with Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Gen Pande.
