Indian Army Chief On Visit Of Nepal Next Month
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Indian Army chief General MM Naravane is going to Nepal next month, the first high-level visit between the two countries since a border row hit ties earlier this year.
India and Nepal have traditionally had strong defence and security ties, with regular exchanges and training programmes. Nearly 30,000 Gurkhas serve in seven regiments of the Indian Army.
In keeping with a long-standing convention between the armies of the two countries, Nepal’s President will confer the honorary rank of general of the Nepali Army to General Naravane in an investiture ceremony during this visit.
Army chief MM Naravane visit will provide an opportunity for the two sides to push defence and security cooperation after bilateral relations were affected by a border.
Nepal objected to the opening of a new road to Lipulekh region on the border with Tibet by India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh.
Nepal then issued a new map that showed Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, all controlled by India, as part of Nepalese territory.
India rejected Nepal’s claims on Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura and said the matter should be addressed through dialogue.
The two sides held a meeting of their oversight mechanism that oversees India-funded development projects and agreed to speed up work on bilateral projects, including infrastructure schemes and cross-border rail links.