Pardafas Reporter
It has been revealed that the United States wants to sign an agreement with Nepal on the State Partnership Program (SPP) on cooperation between its military and the Nepal Army. The United States made such a proposal to Nepal in 2015. However, so far Nepal has not signed the agreement.
According to DoD officials, the United States has been pushing for various agreements to sign the agreement. Lately, Nepal has also been positive on this issue. Recently resigned from the Ministry of Defense. Minendra Rijal had prepared to move this proposal forward.
Accordingly, he was scheduled to pay an official visit to the United States from January 23 to February 3. However, after his resignation, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba took over the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense. Therefore, it is unclear whether the proposal will go ahead again.
The United States made this proposal after the 2072 earthquake in Nepal. At that time, Nepal had cooperated with the armies of other countries for rescue. The main purpose of this program is to cooperate in times of natural disasters and epidemics.
The proposal was made by the United States under Rajendra Chhetri , a retired army chief. Chhetri says that Nepal was also interested at that time.
However, Nepal did not move forward with the proposal. According to military sources, the then government may have feared that the agreement would be opposed due to Nepal's non-aligned foreign policy. But since then, the United States has been urging Nepal to participate in the program.
Former Chief of Army Staff Chhetri says that the United States is conducting this program in many countries. He says there is no reason for Nepal to be afraid to compromise as the program is related to disaster training, cooperation and assistance.
‘When the earthquake hit Nepal, there was still a lack of training, aircraft, engineering, medical equipment and expertise. Then came the offer from the United States, "he said." Nepal has been cooperating with other countries bilaterally. For example, the army has been cooperating with the International Olympic Committee (CISM). Nepal has also taken assistance from the US state of Utah during the Covid. That doesn't seem to bother our foreign policy. "
He suggested that if there is such a suspicion, the clause by clause of the agreement, if there is a provision contrary to our independence, sovereignty and sovereignty, then it can be removed and implemented only commercially. "I am always ready to help in this matter as it is my turn," said Chhetri.
Spokesperson of the Nepal Army Santosh Ballabh Poudel said that he was not aware of the progress of the process on behalf of Nepal. "The United States wants to cooperate with Nepal in the SPP, but this is a government-to-government agreement," he said, "so I have to understand that."
What is SPP?
The SPP is a military cooperation in dealing with natural disasters and epidemics. Under this, disaster related training is exchanged between the armies of the two countries. In particular, the program aims to provide the United States with the resources it needs in times of disaster, along with training.
Currently the US program is implemented in many countries of the world. This program is being implemented in countries like Nepal which have adopted non-aligned foreign policy. The US Central and State National Guard's cooperation with other countries' armies may be different.
