India, Nepal to hold annual border talks today, first after Gen Z protests

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) The heads of India and Nepal's border guarding forces are set to hold their annual coordination meeting from Wednesday to discuss key issues aimed at curbing trans-border crimes and improving real-time intelligence sharing.

This will be the first high-level interaction between the two forces -- India's Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Nepal's Armed Police Force (APF) -- since the 'Gen Z'-led violent protests that swept through Kathmandu in September. According to the government, damages to public infrastructure are estimated to exceed NPR 100 billion, while the private sector has reported losses of over NPR 80 billion in the initial assessment.

According to an official statement, the 9th annual coordination meeting will take place from November 12 to 14.

SSB Director General Sanjay Singhal will lead the Indian delegation, while APF Inspector General Raju Aryal will head the Nepalese side.

The discussions are expected to place special focus on creating effective joint mechanisms to prevent trans-border crimes, establishing quicker and more reliable systems for real-time information exchange, and enhancing coordinated border management practices to ensure peace and security along the Indo-Nepal frontier, the SSB said in its statement.

The last such meeting between the SSB and APF was held in November 2024 in Kathmandu.

The SSB, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, guards the 1,751-km-long open and unfenced Indo-Nepal border. It is also responsible for securing the 699-km-long India-Bhutan border.

Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, earlier in October, had assured the international community that the current administration is committed to holding the next parliamentary elections and handing over power to the elected government within the next six months.

Addressing heads of missions and representatives of the diplomatic community and development partners in Kathmandu on October 17, Karki said, "This non-political, transitional government has one sole and non-negotiable mandate: to hold free, fair, and impartial general elections to the House of Representatives on March 5 next year."

--IANS

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