A round of bilateral talks will be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit in Russia. This comes a day after India and China agreed to restart patrolling along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh ending the four-year stadoff.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday announced about the meeting as he stated, "I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping tomorrow (Wednesday) on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit."
Indian And Chinese PMs Hold Bilateral Talks After 5 Years
PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping engaged in a brief conversation during a dinner for G20 leaders hosted by the Indonesian President in November 2022. Similarly, in August 2022, they had an informal conversation at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
The last formal meeting between the two leaders occurred in Mahabalipuram in October 2019.
The two will meet at a location in Russia's Kazan on October 23 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
What's On The Agenda For Bilateral Talks?
Misri during a press interaction answered to few questions about the topics the two leaders may discuss including the recent development on the border issue.
Misri said the immediate focus will be on disengagement and then the issue of de-escalation and de-induction of troops will be taken up at an appropriate time.
He reportedly added, "What it will entail is that in the pending areas under discussion, patrolling and grazing activities, wherever applicable, will revert to the situation as it existed in 2020".
The disengagement agreements reached previously were not reopened in these discussions and the pact reached early Monday morning focused on issues that had remained outstanding in the last couple of years, he said.
Asked to analyse the overall situation, Misri called it a premature question and noted the focus is to implement the agreement on the ground.
To another query, he said the arrangement worked out is expected to prevent clashes as happened in the past on the LAC.
We will have to make continuous efforts that the mechanisms of the agreement will be such that such clashes can be stopped, he said.
The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
The two sides disengaged from a number of friction points following a series of military and diplomatic talks in the last couple of years. However, the talks hit hurdles in resolving the situation in Depsang and Demchok.
It is understood the agreement announced on Monday will facilitate patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas.
