Indian Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane will head to Kathmandu on Wednesday on a three-day visit that is expected to soften bilateral ties with Nepal after a bitter border dispute, especially by tapping into the traditionally strong military relationship between the two countries, officials said. with events, he said Tuesday.
Naravane will be in Nepal from November 4-6, when he will meet his Nepalese counterpart, General Purna Chandra Thapa, and top civilian leaders. Nepalese President Vidya Devi Bhandari will confer the honorary rank of general of the Nepalese army on Naravane in an inauguration ceremony on November 6, the officials said.
Bilateral ties were affected in May after Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a key border road into the Lipulekh region, claimed by Nepal. Kathmandu responded by issuing a new map showing Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, all controlled by India, as part of Nepalese territory, exacerbating the dispute.
Naravane’s visit is expected to set the stage for much-anticipated talks between the two sides on the border issue, officials said.
“I am delighted to visit Nepal and meet my counterpart, General Purna Chandra Thapa. I am sure that this visit will go a long way to strengthening the ties and friendships that the two armies cherish, ”Naravane said on the eve of his visit to Nepal.
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He said that he would visit the Nepalese Prime Minister and that it was a great honor for him to receive the honorary rank of General of the Nepalese Army from President Bhandari. Naravane’s visit comes days after the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Samant Kumar Goel, paid a low-key visit to Kathmandu during which he met with Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The spokesman for the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, Naveen Kumar, said on Tuesday that the visit of the army chief would deepen the traditional and long-standing ties of friendship between the two armies.
“His visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss the bilateral defense partnership and explore ways to further strengthen it for mutual benefit,” the Indian embassy in Kathmandu tweeted.
Officials said the army chief is expected to interact with retirees from the Indian army in Nepal during the visit: There are 136,000 retirees in that country and they are part of the strong ties between the two sides.
This will be Naravane’s second visit for diplomatic purposes after his recent tour of Myanmar, where he accompanied Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and participated in talks on cooperation on security and development issues.
India’s aid to Myanmar currently stands at $ 1.4 billion, and New Delhi will provide debt service relief under the G20 debt service suspension initiative to Myanmar from May to December to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Covid-19.
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