The Nepal Army is inviting Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on an official Nepal visit on November 4-6.

Naravane is to receive an honorary rank of general of Nepalese army. As per a decades-old tradition between the two countries, army chiefs of each other are conferred the honorary status of army chief by the other country once they are appointed.

He will meet his Nepalese counterpart Gen Purna Chandra Thapa and top civilian leaders. Nepal’s President Vidya Devi Bhandari will also confer the honorary rank of general of the Nepali Army to Naravane.

Ahead of Naravane’s trip, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Samant Kumar Goel made a low-key visit to Kathmandu on Thursday during which he met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The border dispute between the two countries was at its peak in May, Naravane’s statement that Nepal was claiming its ownership over the land in Kalapani-Limpiyadhura region at someone else’s behest, hinting at China, had courted controversy in Nepal.

Following that, large numbers of Nepalese called for an end to the tradition of conferring the honorary rank of Nepal army on each other.