India hopes the upcoming visit by army chief Gen. MM Naravane to Nepal will help stabilize bilateral ties after a bitter border dispute, especially by tapping into traditionally strong ties between the two armies, people familiar with the world said on Friday. events.
Naravane is expected to be in Nepal from November 4-6, when he will meet with his Nepalese counterpart, General Purna Chandra Thapa, and top civilian leaders. Nepalese President Vidya Devi Bhandari will also confer the honorary rank of General of the Nepalese Army on Naravane in an inauguration ceremony.
Prior to Naravane’s trip, the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Samant Kumar Goel, paid a low-key visit to Kathmandu on Thursday during which he met with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Oli’s spokesman, Surya Thapa, was quoted by the media as saying that Goel’s discussions with Oli focused on not allowing any “disruption in friendly relations between Nepal and India.” [and] resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue and ongoing mutual cooperation ”.
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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.
The two sides have yet to hold talks on the border issue, although the people cited above said, on condition of anonymity, that visits from the RAW and Indian army chiefs are expected to calm relations and pave the way for more substantive engagements.
“The ties between the two armies are very strong and there are 136,000 retirees from the Indian Army in Nepal, which are part of the strong ties between the two sides,” said the person quoted above.
Oli’s decision to remove Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel, who criticized India, from the defense ministry during a cabinet shakeup on October 14, was seen by some in New Delhi as an indication of a desire to improve ties before the visit of the chief of the Indian army. However, people played down the speculation about it. “We see this more as an internal compromise between two groups in the Nepalese government and more as an internal matter for them,” said one of the people.
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People pointed out that Nepalese leaders themselves have referred to what is called the “roti-beti ka rishta,” a reference to the close ties forged through trade and marriages between the border districts of the two countries, and said that this is one of the bases of the strong economic and political ties with Nepal.
Despite China’s efforts to forge stronger economic ties, Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a large proportion of its needs from and through India. Nepal imported goods worth $ 6.52 billion from India in 2017 and exported goods worth $ 420.18 million the same year.
India’s security establishment also remains concerned about China’s activities along the Nepalese borders, including possible invasion of the territory, despite a recent denial issued by Kathmandu and Beijing about the occupation of land by the Indians. Chinese troops in the remote border district of Humla.
“There are reports that China has illegally occupied Nepalese land in various locations throughout the border districts of Dolakha, Gorkha, Darchula, Humla, Sindhupalchowk, Sankhuwasabha and Rasuwa. Several of these places are catchment areas for rivers, ”said a second person.
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