Although political relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi appear to have cooled following KP Oli’s election as prime minister in mid-July, the meetings of the regular mechanisms between the two countries remain on track.

After failing to receive an invitation to visit India, a customary first port of call for new Nepali prime ministers, Oli is set to visit China in the first week of December. But ahead of his China visit, two chiefs of Indian security agencies are visiting Kathmandu and are likely to meet with Oli, among others.

According to the sources at the Ministry of Defence, new Indian Army chief, General Upendra Dwivedi is arriving on an official visit to Kathmandu on November 20. General Dwivedi has been serving as Indian Army chief since June 30. During the visit, Dwivedi will be conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepal Army by President Ramchandra Paudel at a special function at the President’s Office.

The government has already approved Dwivedi’s visit, according to Defense Ministry sources. Nepal and India have followed a seven-decade-old tradition of conferring the honorary title on each other’s army chief. After General Dwivedi returns, Nepal Army chief General Ashok Sigdel will also visit India to receive the same title from the Indian president, according to sources.

During his stay in Kathmandu, General Dwivedi will call on President Paudel, Prime Minister Oli, and his counterpart, General Sigdel. He will also visit some other places where Nepal Army and the India side are preparing the itinerary. The Indian Army is the major military donor to the Nepal Army.

Ahead of General Dwivedi’s visit, Director General of India’s Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Amrit Mohan Prasad is visiting Nepal on November 15, said the Armed Police Force. Prasad is visiting at the invitation of Raju Aryal, the inspector general of Armed Police Force (APF). “We are preparing the agenda of the visit,” APF Deputy Superintendent Sailendra Thapa, who is also the deputy spokesperson of the APF, told the Post.

Both Aryal and Prasad will jointly lead the eighth meeting of the annual coordination meeting between the two forces, which are responsible for guarding and protecting the 1,751 km India-Nepal border.

Besides holding meetings with IGP Aryal, the Indian chief may also call on the Prime Minister Oli, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and other leaders and officials.

In the last meeting, both sides unanimously resolved to implement additional measures to strengthen coordination and collaboration between the two border-guarding forces. Emphasis was laid on curbing trans-border crimes, smuggling of arms and ammunition, as well as combating human trafficking, among other things, along the open and unfenced Nepal-India border.

The Help Desks established by both APF and SSB at major transit points along the border will remain operational to facilitate the movement of citizens from both nations, particularly during festive seasons, according to the SSB

There was also consensus on expanding the exchange-programs and exposure visits between both the forces as part of mutual capacity-building efforts, said a statement issued after the last meeting. The joint mechanism was established to strength coordination between the two security agencies; develop mechanisms at lower level; exchange critical information; curb trans-border crimes; share intelligence inputs in a timely manner; manage the border effectively; create a new mechanism to combat trans-border crimes collaboratively, and facilitate the timely sharing of the information, among other things.