Updated: October 15, 2020 6:53:12 am
Chief of the Army, General MM Naravane. (Proceedings)
In what would be the first high-level Indian visit to Nepal after the the boundary dispute intensified this summer, the chief of the Indian army, General MM Naravane, will visit Kathmandu next month. While the dates have yet to be announced, the Nepalese Army, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the Indian Army chief “will visit Nepal in November this year.” He said the visit was “approved by the Government of Nepal” on February 3, but “was postponed due to the blockade in both countries.”
Nepalese Army spokesman Brigadier General Santosh Poudel said the two sides were in contact to decide the dates. During the visit, Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will confer the rank of Honorary General of the Nepal Army on General Naravane, a 70-year tradition, a reciprocal agreement between the two armies since 1950.
The choice of General Naravane for the first high-level Indian visit to Kathmandu since the border row gained momentum is significant as it was his comment that Nepal was acting in the “Request from another person” – an indirect reference to China – which complicated relations amid tensions over the border issue.
On May 15, General Naravane suggested that Nepal could raise the issue of road construction in India through Lipulekh to Mansarovar “at the behest of another person”.
Nepal reacted harshly to the Army chief’s comments. Nepalese Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel called the statement “insulting … ignoring the history of Nepal, our social characteristics and freedom.” The inauguration of the new road from Dharchula to Lipulekh on the Mansarovar Yatra route infuriated the government of KP Sharma Oli, who presented a new map of Nepal, adding an area of 370 square kilometers to it at the triple junction of Nepal, India and China (Tibet ) that India maintains is its territory.
A Constitutional Amendment Bill it was approved by the parliament of Nepal to legitimize the alteration or addition of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura to the new map of the country. The approval of the bill and the new map caused the breakdown of communication between the two countries.
But in recent months, starting from the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Oli, efforts have been made for a rapprochement between the two countries.
This was followed by a meeting between officials in Kathmandu to review projects funded by the Indian government. The August 17 meeting took place in Kathmandu, where Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi led a team of officials and the Indian side was led by Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
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