R&AW Chief calls on Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli; holds talks on strengthening bilateral ties

Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) chief Samant Kumar Goel called on Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Wednesday. During his diplomatic visit, Goel expressed that India will not allow interruption in the friendly bilateral relations with Nepal and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, according to a top Nepalese official. Goel's visit comes ahead of the upcoming official trip of Indian Army chief General MM Naravane to Nepal in the first week of November.

'Resolving all the outstanding issues through dialogue'

"Goel called on Prime Minister Oli at his official residence at Baluwatar on Wednesday evening", the premier's press advisor Surya Thapa told news agency PTI. "During the meeting, Goel expressed his views regarding not to allow interruption in friendly relations between Nepal and India, resolving all the outstanding issues through dialogue and continuing mutual cooperation," Thapa said. According to PTI report, Goel is also expected to meet chiefs of different security agencies in Nepal, including the Nepalese Army, during his visit.

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Map row strains ties between India and Nepal

The relations between the two countries were affected in May after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand. During the road inauguration, Nepal protested claiming that it passed through its territory. Days after, Nepal came out with a new map showing Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territories. Amid the map row, General Naravane claimed that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to the road at the behest of 'someone else' which triggered angry reactions from Nepal. India had also published a new map in November 2019 showing the aforesaid areas as its territories.

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In June this year, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. India reacted sharply to this and called it a "unilateral act". India also cautioned Kathmandu that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it. India further said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani which is a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both countries claim that Kalapani is an integral part of their territory.

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(With PTI inputs)