Kathmandu: India’s Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth called on Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah in Kathmandu on Tuesday as part of his ongoing four-day visit to Nepal.
According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, a courtesy meeting was held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, which was also attended by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava. Prime Minister Shah also serves as Nepal’s Defence Minister.
General Seth became a rare foreign dignitary to receive an audience with Prime Minister Shah, who has been avoiding one-on-one meetings with foreign diplomats and dignitaries since becoming Prime Minister on March 27, earlier this year.
The Prime Minister’s Office has not immediately disclosed details of the talks between the two sides, although there was speculation that the recruitment of Nepali youths into the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme could have featured during the meeting.
The recruitment of Nepali youths into the Indian Army has been paused since 2019, initially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nepal subsequently suspended the recruitment process after India introduced the Agnipath scheme in 2022.
The Nepali government halted the recruitment of Nepali youths into the Indian Army, arguing that the scheme was inconsistent with the provisions of the 1947 Tripartite Agreement between India, Nepal and Britain.
On Monday, Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Paudel conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army on General Seth. Nepal and India share a unique, decades-old tradition, dating back to 1950, of conferring the honorary rank of General on each other’s Army Chiefs. The tradition is believed to have contributed to strengthening military-to-military relations between the two countries.
General Seth arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday for a four-day visit at the formal invitation of Nepal’s Chief of the Army Staff General Ashok Raj Sigdel.
Before being conferred the honorary rank, General Seth held talks with Nepal’s army chief Sigdel, on Monday.
“During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual interest and ways to strengthen bilateral military relations between Nepal and India,” the Nepali Army said.
During his visit, General Seth also received and inspected a Guard of Honour at the Nepali Army Headquarters. He also paid homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the Martyrs’ Memorial at the Army Pavilion on Monday.
Following General Seth’s arrival on Sunday, the Nepali Army said in a statement that such high-level exchanges contribute to strengthening the close and longstanding relations between the two armies.
(IANS)
