US Indo-Pacific Command (US Indo-PACCOM) Deputy Chief Lieutenant General Joshua M. Rad arrived in Nepal. He arrived in Kathmandu with a delegation of four members on Friday. Rad arrived in Kathmandu after visiting India and Bangladesh. This information is known from the report of Nepali media Kathmandu Post.
In this visit Lt. General Rudd will meet top officials including Nepal Army Chief General Ashok Sigdel. The visit comes just ahead of Donald Trump's second term as president and ahead of Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to China in December.
Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC, spokesperson of the Nepal Army, said that there is no specific issue in General Rudd's visit. However, he will visit some military training institutes in Nepal and meet the army chief. Earlier, during his visit to Bangladesh, General Rudd met Bangladesh Army Chief General Walker-uz-Zaman.
Lt. Kathmandu. General Rudd will meet the Chief of Army Staff of Nepal General Sigdel and will visit the Birendra Peacekeeping Training Center at Panchkhal in Kavrepalanchak and the Nepal Army Command and Staff College at Shivpuri, said the spokesperson Brigadier General Gaurav.
In a post shared on social media, the US Embassy in Dhaka said about General Rudd's visit, 'We are excited to welcome Lt General Rudd to Bangladesh as part of our joint commitment to ensure a free, open, peaceful and secure environment in the Indo-Pacific region. We are working together for a prosperous Indo-Pacific region.'
Meanwhile, during the visit to India Lt. General Rudd co-chaired the 21st Military Cooperation Group (MCG) meeting with India's Chief of Integrated Defense Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt. Gen. Johnson P Mathew.
A US Indo-Pacific Command statement on the meeting said, “The meeting advanced the common goal of strengthening US-India military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, with an emphasis on enhancing defense cooperation in all areas, including cyber and space.”
“We have a common vision,” General Rudd said in a statement. As the oldest and largest democracy, our relationship not only defines governance, but also defines our identity and our core values.'
General Rudd also said, 'The renewal of the US-India Defense Framework scheduled for 2025 is the greatest opportunity to maintain a positive relationship between us. This will create an opportunity to chart our future trajectory and continue the positive momentum of improving our relationship and cooperation.
