Army chief General Dhiraj Seth meets Nepal PM Balendra Shah on third day of Kathmandu visit

New Delhi: TheIndian Army chief, General Dhiraj Seth, on the third day of his visit to Nepal, met the Himalayan country’s prime minister, Balendra Shah, at the latter’s office and council of ministers in Kathmandu on Tuesday. The two sides discussed matters of mutual interest.

According to the Nepal prime minister’s office, Gen Seth paid a courtesy call on Shah and various matters of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting. Gen Seth is in Kathmandu at the invitation of Nepali Army chief, General Ashok Raj Sigdel, primarily in connection with the conferment of the honorary rank of general of the Nepali Army.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had extended an invitation to Shah to visit India. Jaiswal said India and Nepal enjoyed “deep-rooted relations and a strong partnership”, adding that the recent visit of the Indian Army chief reflected the strong ties between the two countries and highlighted the close and longstanding relationship between their armed forces.

Gen Seth also interacted with student officers of the command and staff course at the army command and staff college in Shivapuri. The interaction focused on enhancing staff and leadership capabilities among mid-level officers, adding a professional training dimension to the Army chief’s engagement in Nepal.

On Monday, he held bilateral talks with Gen Sigdel at the Nepal Army headquarters. The two army chiefs discussed matters of mutual interest and ways to further strengthen military-to-military cooperation between India and Nepal.

Gen Seth was also conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army by Nepal president, Ramchandra Paudel, during a ceremony on Monday. The conferment is part of a unique and time-honoured tradition dating back to 1950, under which India and Nepal reciprocally confer the honorary rank of general on the chiefs of each other’s armies.

The tradition remains a prominent symbol of the historic military relationship between the two countries. Gen Seth also offered prayers at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu during his visit.

The Indian embassy in Kathmandu said Seth’s visit “reaffirms the unique and time-tested defence relations between India and Nepal”, rooted in shared values, mutual trust and enduring military-to-military ties.

The visit assumes significance amid efforts by New Delhi and Kathmandu to maintain engagement despite differences over the longstanding boundary dispute involving Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India has maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand, while Nepal has claimed them as part of its territory.

Shah has not yet visited India or China since taking office. Earlier this month, however, he held his first one-on-one meeting with Indian ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava and emphasized the need to deepen Nepal’s “historic relationship” with India.

India and Nepal share extensive defence cooperation, including military exercises, training exchanges and regular institutional engagements. The reciprocal conferment of honorary general ranks remains one of the clearest symbols of the unique relationship between the two armies.