Press Release
General Purna Chandra Thapa, the Chief of Army Staff, Nepali Army, participated in the third biennial Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference (CHOD) organized at the UNHQs in New York on 11 July 2019.
Speaking in the Conference, Gen. Thapa highlighted the leading role Nepali peacekeepers played in the UN mandated peace missions for maintaining peace and security in conflict affected areas. He also expressed Nepal Army’s readiness to deploy more troops upon the request of the United Nations.
The Conference was organized on the theme of “Generating Capabilities to Meet High-Performance Requirements” in UN peacekeeping operations with an objective of generating solutions to issues related to specialized capabilities and gaps, performance, training and increasing the participation of uniformed women in peace operations. Defence chiefs and senior military officials from more than 108 Member States and regional organizations participated in the Conference.
Earlier on 10 July, Gen. Thapa participated in a seminar on “Women, Peace and Security”. While sharing his experience as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria in 2016, Gen. Thapa highlighted the critical role of women in restoring peace and order in the conflict affected areas. On female participation, he expressed his commitment to gradually increase the number of female observers, staff officers and contingents in the peacekeeping missions.
In the afternoon of 9 July, Gen. Thapa held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy-Secretary-General (DSG) of the United Nations. During the meeting, Gen. Thapa thanked the United Nations for the trust and goodwill accorded to the professionalism of Nepali peacekeepers. He also informed the DSG that the performance of Nepali peacekeepers will be further enhanced to fulfill the mandates in an effective manner. DSG Ms. Mohammed expressed gratitude to Nepal for its contribution to world peace and commended the professionalism of Nepali peacekeepers. Likewise, Gen. Thapa held bilateral meetings with other high-ranking officials of the United Nations, including Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeepingand Field Support and exchanged views on the issues related to UN peace operations. Gen. Thapa was accompanied by H.E. Amrit Bahadur Rai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and other members of the delegation from Nepal.
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New York,
11 July 2019
