Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane is set to visit Nepal next month to attend a traditional ceremony where he will be accorded the honorary rank of General in the Nepalese Army.
Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane | PTI
Despite the diplomatic row over a new map issued by Nepal, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane will visit the country next month to attend a traditional ceremony where he will be accorded the honorary rank of General in the Nepalese Army. He is also likely to be part of bilateral discussions during the visit.
The development is a signal that relations between India and Nepal could be back on track.
The visit was approved by the Nepal government in February this year but was postponed due to the lockdown in both countries after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari will confer the honorary rank of General of the Nepalese Army upon General Naravane, a statement from the Ministry of Nepal said.
Earlier this year, relations between India and Nepal took a hit after India’s construction of a new strategic 80 km road in Uttarakhand connecting to the Lipulekh pass at 17,000 feet on the India-Nepal-China trijunction.
The road will make travel to Kailash Mansarovar smoother and also aid troops serving at the Line of Actual Control on the India-China frontier.
Unhappy with the road construction claiming it was on its land, Kathmandu protested and issued new maps of the area.
Indian Army Chief Gen M M Naravane had earlier hinted at China’s role in pushing Nepal to protest against India’s road construction at Leipulekh pass at 17,000 feet close to the India-China-Nepal trijunction.
“There is reason to believe that they must have raised these problems, these issues at the behest of someone else. That is very much a possibility,” the army chief had said.
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