Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth Meets Nepal PM Balendra Shah in Kathmandu
Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth met Nepal’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen Shah, in Kathmandu on Tuesday, with both sides discussing ways to deepen bilateral military ties and defence cooperation. The courtesy call took place at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar and was attended by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava.
The meeting was one of the central political engagements of General Seth’s four-day official visit to Nepal, which began on August 16 and runs through August 19 at the invitation of Nepali Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel. According to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the talks were “warm and productive,” while sources at the Nepal Prime Minister’s secretariat said the two sides exchanged views on matters of bilateral interest and on steps to enhance military relations.
General Seth arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday leading a five-member delegation. The trip is his first official foreign visit since he took over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff on June 30, 2026, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi.
Honorary rank and military exchanges
On Monday, August 17, Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army on General Seth at Sheetal Niwas, also referred to as Shital Niwas. The ceremony was attended by Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, Ambassador Srivastava, and senior Nepali Army and government officials.
The honour is part of a reciprocal military tradition that dates back to 1950, under which the army chiefs of India and Nepal receive the honorary rank of General in each other’s armies. The Indian Army has described the practice as a reflection of “mutual trust, professional respect and military camaraderie,” and as a symbol of the long-standing defence relationship between the two countries rather than a purely ceremonial gesture.
During his visit, General Seth also held bilateral talks with General Sigdel at the Nepal Army Headquarters, where the two chiefs discussed issues of mutual interest and ways to strengthen military-to-military cooperation. He was accorded a guard of honour, planted a sapling at the headquarters and handed over military and medical equipment to the Nepali Army.
On Tuesday, he offered prayers at the Pashupatinath Temple and was scheduled to address student officers at the Nepal Army Command and Staff Course in Shivapuri, where he was expected to share his views on professional military education and contemporary security challenges. The delegation is expected to return on Wednesday, with further interactions planned, including a meeting with Indian Army veterans.
India-Nepal defence ties and current strains
India and Nepal have long shared close defence relations, built around historical, professional and people-to-people links. One of the most enduring aspects of this relationship is the recruitment of Nepali Gorkha soldiers into the Indian Army under the framework of the 1947 Tripartite Agreement involving India, Nepal and Britain. The cooperation also includes joint training, equipment support, professional exchanges and ties between veterans and their families.
The visit comes at a time when the wider relationship is being managed alongside some continuing diplomatic sensitivities. The border dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani remains unresolved. India maintains that the territories are part of Uttarakhand, while Nepal claims them. In May 2026, Prime Minister Shah told Parliament that Kathmandu was engaging not only with India but also with China and the UK on the issue, a suggestion New Delhi has rejected, saying it does not accept any third-party role in the matter.
Another unresolved issue is the suspension of recruitment of Nepali youths into the Indian Army’s Gorkha regiments. The process was first disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and remained on hold after India introduced the Agnipath scheme in 2022. Under the scheme, personnel below officer rank serve for four years, with up to 25 percent retained for longer service. Nepal has seen the arrangement as at odds with the spirit of the 1947 Tripartite Agreement, particularly on service conditions and long-term benefits.
In recent weeks, protests and rallies by Nepali youths and former Gorkha soldiers have been reported, especially in western Nepal, including Pokhara and Lamjung, calling for the resumption of recruitment. Some of those taking part have argued that service under Agnipath is still preferable to limited local job opportunities or work in the Gulf. While speculation has circulated that the issue may have come up during General Seth’s meetings in Kathmandu, neither side has publicly confirmed any specific outcome on that front.
Why Shah’s meeting matters
Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a structural engineer, former rapper and former independent Mayor of Kathmandu from 2022 to 2026, took office on March 27, 2026, after the Rastriya Swatantra Party won a landslide in the March general elections. At 36, he is among the world’s youngest serving heads of government.
Since assuming office, Shah has been selective about high-level bilateral engagements and has largely avoided one-on-one meetings with foreign dignitaries. His decision to meet the Indian Army Chief, following an earlier meeting this month with the Indian Ambassador, is therefore being viewed as noteworthy. Shah has also publicly stressed the importance of Nepal’s “historic relationship” with India.
For both sides, the visit serves as a reminder that military-to-military ties remain a steady channel of engagement even when political and border issues remain unsettled. The reciprocal honorary rank tradition, the exchange of equipment, the professional discussions and the planned interaction with veterans all add to the practical weight of the relationship.
No joint statement setting out detailed outcomes was issued immediately after the Tuesday meeting. Both sides, however, have described the overall visit as one that has strengthened mutual trust and defence cooperation, with General Seth’s remaining engagements in Nepal scheduled to conclude before his return to India on Wednesday.
