Kathmandu, Aug 18: Indian Army chief General Dhiraj Seth on Tuesday called on Nepal’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister Balendra Shah and discussed issues of mutual interest and ways to strengthen military ties.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was also present at the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar amid unease in ties between the two neighbours.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed matters related to bilateral interest and strengthening bilateral military relations, according to sources at the Prime Minister’s secretariat.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shah held his first one-on-one meeting with Indian Ambassador Srivastava and emphasised the need to deepen the country’s “historic relationship” with India.
In recent weeks, Shah has moved away from his self-imposed rule of avoiding one-on-one engagements with foreign ambassadors and senior visiting officials.
General Seth, who is on a four-day official visit to Nepal from August 17 to 19 at the invitation of his Nepalese Army counterpart General Ashok Raj Sigdel, was conferred the rank of Honorary General of the Nepali Army by President Ramchandra Paudel during a ceremony here on Monday.
Nepal and India have maintained a longstanding tradition since 1950 of conferring the honorary rank of General on each other’s army chiefs. The conferment of the honorary rank is part of a unique and time-honoured military tradition under which India and Nepal reciprocally confer the honorary rank of General on the chiefs of each other’s armies.
General Seth also held bilateral talks with General Sigdel at Army Headquarters on Monday, discussing matters of mutual interest.
Nepal’s leaders have traditionally attached importance to early engagement with New Delhi, reflecting the close political, economic and people-to-people ties between the neighbours.
Prime Minister Shah, however, has not undertaken any visit to either the southern or the northern neighbour. Instead, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal made back-to-back visits to New Delhi and Beijing in June.
Shah’s predecessor K P Sharma Oli had visited China after taking over in 2024, in a major departure from past practices when Nepal PMs travelled to India on their first foreign visit.
In his maiden appearance in the parliament on May 31, PM Shah had said that he has learnt about his country “encroaching” territories in India.
Shah also said that apart from discussions with India on a long-standing border dispute, Kathmandu was in touch with China and the UK as well. Two days later, New Delhi categorically rejected any role for third parties to resolve its boundary dispute with Nepal.
Nepal and India have had an old boundary dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India has consistently maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand.
Soon after Shah’s remarks, Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Rabi Lamichhane visited India and met top Indian leaders.
The visit of the Indian Army chief to Nepal “reaffirms the unique and time-tested defence relations between India and Nepal, which are rooted in shared values, mutual trust, and enduring military-to-military ties”, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a post on X.
General Seth also offered prayer at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Nepal Army sources said.
