Nepal will not join the first ever joint military drill, among the armies of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) members, to be hosted by India next week, an adviser to the prime minister said, here.
Kundan Aryal, press adviser to Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, said that, Nepal will not join the joint military drill, to be organised in Pune, of the western Indian State of Maharastra, on Sept 10-16.
"Nepal will not participate in the BIMSTEC joint military drill. This is the official decision of the government," he said, without giving details about reasons behind Nepal's decision to skip the military drill.
Official sources said, on Saturday, that, the decision was made by the government, amid growing criticism from multiple quarters, over Nepal's possible participation in the first ever military drill, among the armies of BIMSTEC members.
The proposal for the joint military drill was first proposed by the Indian Army in Jun, followed by an initial meeting of BIMSTEC senior army officials, in New Delhi, army sources said here on Saturday.
BIMSTEC, founded in 1997, is a regional bloc grouping India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK
