KATHMANDU, Nov 13: Before Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to China, the chiefs of two Indian security agencies are set to visit Nepal. Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to travel to China on December 2. Prior to his visit, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and Director General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Amrit Mohan Prasad, are planning to visit Nepal.
While the director general of the SSB is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu this Friday (November 15), the Indian Army Chief Dwivedi will arrive on November 20. The heads of Nepal's security agencies have described the visits of the Indian security officials as routine visits. However, with Prime Minister Oli's upcoming trip to China, their visit is seen as a message that the relationship between Nepal and India is heading towards a more positive direction.
"A coordination meeting on border security and the visit of the Indian army chief to Nepal is not just a routine visit. It also shows that the relationship between the governments of Nepal and India is positive," said an official from Nepal's Ministry of Defence. According to the official, the Nepali Army will issue a statement regarding the visit of Indian Army Chief Dwivedi. A senior official from the Nepali Army mentioned that a press release will be issued on Wednesday to provide further details.
After the visit of Indian Army Chief Dwivedi to Nepal, a ‘joint operations cell’ will be formed under the leadership of the Nepali Army. This ‘cell’ will comprise Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and the National Investigation Department, to enhance security surveillance. "The army has given high importance to his visit, and since there is a possibility of protests during the visit, a joint operations cell is being set up to address this concern," said a senior official from the Nepali Army.
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Amid various speculations in the diplomatic landscape regarding the lack of an invitation from the Indian government for Prime Minister Oli’s visit to India, the upcoming visit of the Indian army chief is expected to send a positive message about the relationship between the two countries. The Oli government, on the other hand, has already extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Nepal.
During his visit to Nepal, Indian Army Chief General Dwivedi will be honored with the title of Honorary General of the Nepali Army by President Ram Chandra Paudel amid a special ceremony at Sheetal Niwas. According to sources close to the Nepali Army, the Indian army chief will receive the honorary title and the corresponding insignia of the Nepali Army. This tradition has been maintained between the two countries for decades.
Military sources have informed Republica that discussions on cooperation and exchange will also take place during General Dwivedi's visit to Nepal. He was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army on June 30, 2024.
Similarly, Director General Prasad of the SSB is set to visit Kathmandu to participate in the annual coordination meeting between the Armed Police Force Nepal and the SSB. The coordination meeting will be held in Kathmandu on November 16 and 17. The eighth coordination meeting on border security, which was scheduled in Kathmandu on August 21, 22, 23, was later postponed by India due to political unrest in Bangladesh. In any case, after receiving confirmation of the availability of the director general of the SSB, the meeting is now scheduled to take place in Kathmandu on November 16 and 17.
The seventh coordination meeting on border security was held in New Delhi from November 6 to 8 last year. In the eighth meeting, the Nepali delegation will be led by the Armed Police Force Inspector General Raju Aryal, while the Indian delegation will be led by the SSB Director General Prasad. According to sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the meeting will focus on issues such as cross-border crime control and other related agendas.
MoHA has stated that this meeting will be held regularly to ensure coordination and cooperation between the security agencies of the two countries that are involved in border security. Representatives from Nepal Police, National Investigation Department, MoHA, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also pitch their concerns in the meeting. Since Nepal and India share an open border, cross-border crime remains a major security challenge. According to a senior official of the Armed Police Force, cooperation to control cross-border crimes will form the heart of the meeting. There will also be discussions on the solutions to the problems faced by Nepali citizens at the border checkposts while returning home from India during festivals.
Although the main festivals for this year have already passed, this issue regularly comes up. The Nepal-India Border Security Coordination Meeting will be held in Kathmandu on November 16 and 17, and the director general of the SSB is coming to Kathmandu to participate in the meeting, according to Armed Police Force Nepal's Spokesperson DSP Shailendra Thapa. "This is a regular meeting. It was held in New Delhi last year, and this year it will be held in Nepal. Such meetings are held every year," Thapa said.
The SSB is a specialized security force of India that handles border security with Nepal and Bhutan. Compared to Nepal, the presence of Indian security forces along the Nepal-India border is substantial. On the Nepal border, the SSB has 502 posts. On the other hand, the only security force deployed by Nepal for border security is the Armed Police Force.
