Kathmandu, November 16
Indian Army Chief, Manoj Mukund Naravane, has held a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday.
Naravane is currently in Kathmandu on a three-day official visit to Nepal.
Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Oli’s foreign affairs advisor Rajan Bhattarai were also present in the meeting. Likewise, Naravane was accompanied by Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
During the meeting, Oli stated that Nepal and India shared age-old special relations, and the conferring of the honorary rank of general to each other’s army chief was also a part of it.
Oli’s advisor Bhattarai says the prime minister also expressed his confidence that the two countries would solve various outstanding issues between them through dialogues.
Naravane had arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday to receive an honorary rank of Nepal Army General. President Bidya Devi Bhandari has already conferred on the rank on him amidst a special function at Shital Niwas on Thursday.
Although his visit was planned primarily for the continuity of the decades-old tradition, it has received significant attention both in Kathmandu and New Delhi this time given the two countries are engaged in a border dispute for over a year now.
It is expected that his visit will open a door to the resumption of diplomatic talks between the two countries on the dispute among other issues of bilateral concerns.
