Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi leaves for France visit (24-27 February) to boost India-France defence ties
Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi departed on 23 February 2025 for an official visit to France from 24 to 27 February to strengthen India-France defence cooperation.
Summary
The Ministry of Defence said on 23 February 2025 that Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi had departed for an official visit to France from 24 to 27 February. In Paris he was to hold talks with the French Army Chief, General Pierre Schill, at Les Invalides, visit the Ecole Militaire for a briefing on the Future Combat Command, and see the Battle Lab Terre at Versailles. In Marseille he was to visit the French Army's 3rd Division and be briefed on the bilateral Exercise SHAKTI and the Scorpion modernisation programme, watch a Scorpion Division demonstration at Carpiagne, lay a wreath at the Neuve Chapelle Indian War Memorial honouring Indian soldiers of World War I, and speak at the Ecole de Guerre.
Key facts
- Visit
- 24-27 February 2025 (departed 23 February)
- French Army Chief
- General Pierre Schill
- Exercise briefed
- SHAKTI (India-France)
- French modernisation programme
- Scorpion
- Memorial
- Neuve Chapelle Indian War Memorial (World War I)
- Talk
- Ecole de Guerre, French Joint Staff College
Practice MCQs 2 questions
Exercise SHAKTI, on which Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi was to be briefed in Marseille in February 2025, is a bilateral exercise between India and:
Show answer
Correct answer: A — France
The Defence Ministry described SHAKTI as the bilateral India-France exercise, part of India-France training cooperation.
The Neuve Chapelle Indian War Memorial in France, where General Dwivedi was to lay a wreath, honours Indian soldiers who fought in:
Show answer
Correct answer: B — World War I
The memorial honours fallen Indian soldiers who took part in World War I.