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By vivek raghuvanshi
Published: 23 Jul 2009 16:22
NEW DELHI - India will resume sending arms to Nepal, lifting a four-year ban imposed after former Nepalese King Gyanendra enforced autocratic rule in the Himalayan kingdom.
The ban's end is part of the fruit of the July 21 meeting of Nepalese Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari and Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony, according to Indian Defence Ministry sources.
India and Nepal will also resume talks on India-Nepal security issues, the sources said.
Details of the sales are not yet formalized.
India had been supplying Nepal automatic rifles, machine guns, mortars, mines and mine-protected vehicles. It also had sold two Advanced Light Helicopters to Nepal at a discount.
Recruitment of Gurkhas from Nepal in the Indian Army and joint training of the countries' troops will begin soon, the sources said.
The countries have had strong military ties since they concluded an agreement about recruiting Gurkhas in 1949. The relationship deepened as the Maoist insurgency gained ground in Nepal.
The resumption of military supplies to Nepal is well-timed because it will stem the growing Nepal-China ties that had gained momentum after the Maoists briefly came to power in Nepal in 2008, said Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general. That government fell in May, after Prime Minister Prachanda sacked the country's army chief, plunging Nepal into political turmoil.
Published: 23 Jul 2009 16:22
NEW DELHI - India will resume sending arms to Nepal, lifting a four-year ban imposed after former Nepalese King Gyanendra enforced autocratic rule in the Himalayan kingdom.
The ban's end is part of the fruit of the July 21 meeting of Nepalese Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari and Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony, according to Indian Defence Ministry sources.
India and Nepal will also resume talks on India-Nepal security issues, the sources said.
Details of the sales are not yet formalized.
India had been supplying Nepal automatic rifles, machine guns, mortars, mines and mine-protected vehicles. It also had sold two Advanced Light Helicopters to Nepal at a discount.
Recruitment of Gurkhas from Nepal in the Indian Army and joint training of the countries' troops will begin soon, the sources said.
The countries have had strong military ties since they concluded an agreement about recruiting Gurkhas in 1949. The relationship deepened as the Maoist insurgency gained ground in Nepal.
The resumption of military supplies to Nepal is well-timed because it will stem the growing Nepal-China ties that had gained momentum after the Maoists briefly came to power in Nepal in 2008, said Mahindra Singh, a retired Indian Army major general. That government fell in May, after Prime Minister Prachanda sacked the country's army chief, plunging Nepal into political turmoil.
