India goes an extra mile to normalise ties with Nepal – New Delhi Times

Later this month, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will travel to Kathmandu for formal dialogue between the two countries, a sign that New Delhi is willing to go an extra mile to improve bilateral ties between the two countries.

The decision to send the foreign secretary comes days after Army Chief General MM Naravane was conferred the honorary rank of general of Nepali Army. Gen Naravane had met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on this visit who had underscored that the two countries could resolve all issues between them through dialogue since both the countries have a long-standing special relationship.

During the visit of  Gen Naravane’s,  KP Sharma Oli had faced resistance within his cabinet to but he had dealt with it, withdrawing the defence portfolio from deputy prime minister Ishwar Pokhrel. Gen Naravane’s visit was considered crucial, as he was the first one within the Indian government to react to protests by Nepal’s government over a border road built in Uttarakhand.

During the two days of visit in November 26 and 27, Shringla spends in Kathmandu.He  is already scheduled to hold meetings with his counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal who took charge just last month and foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. He will also meet President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Oli during his visit. Shringla’s conversations in Nepal are also expected to lead both sides to finalise the schedule for the meeting of the Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee.

India had been holding off on Harsh Shringla’s visit for most of this year to convey New Delhi’s displeasure over the communist government’s move to issue a new political map that included a slice of land including the Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani areas to the west of Nepal.