General Naravane's visit to the Himalayan nation comes in the wake of an official invitation from Nepalese Army chief General Purna Chandra Thapa. The top Indian general is accompanied by his wife Veena Naravane, also the chairperson of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).
“The Nepali Army believes that exchange of such high-level visits and continuation of tradition helps in strengthening relations between the two armies, contributing to enhancing the relationship between the two countries," the Nepalese Army said in a statement soon after the arrival of General Naravane at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday.
General Naravane on Tuesday said that he was eagerly looking forward to the visit, which he felt would go a long way in strengthening the "bonds of friendship" between the armies of both the neighbouring nations.
The Indian Army chief is slated to hold talks with his Nepalese counterpart Purna Chandra Thapa at the Nepal Army headquarters on Thursday. The same day, he will be conferred with the honorary rank of General of Nepal Army by President Bidya Devi Bhandari at a special ceremony. General Naravane will call upon Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday.
Cracks developed in the ties between India and Nepal after Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting Nepal's Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on May 8.
What worsened the ties was the Nepalese Parliament formally approving a revised map of the country a month later, showing three areas -- Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura -- it disputes with India. The strategic Lipulekh pass connects Uttarakhand with the Tibet region of China. India and Nepal share an open border of about 1,880 km.
The new map was approved by Nepal as an apparent act of retaliation against New Delhi publishing its new map of the border region in November, after the latter divided Indian-administered Kashmir into the federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and incorporated some areas disputed with Kathmandu.
New Delhi's move also stirred simmering tensions between India and China. In June, border clashes broke out between India and China, which had left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.
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