Amid reports that China provided diplomatic and military support to Pakistan during its recent conflict with India, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who is on a two-day visit to India.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the developments in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Beijing on 27 January. They agreed to continue to stabilise and rebuild ties with a priority on people-centric engagements.
Mr Misri appreciated the Chinese side’s cooperation for the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. He noted the discussion in the April meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism for cooperation in trans-border rivers for the resumption of the provision of hydrological data and other cooperation, and hoped for progress on this.
The two sides agreed to expedite the steps to resume direct air services between the two countries. The Indian diplomat hoped for the early conclusion of an updated Air Services Agreement. The two sides further agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and exchanges between media and think-tanks.
‘’The two sides positively assessed the activities planned under the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China and agreed to facilitate the same,’’the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The two sides agreed to hold certain functional dialogues, including in the economic and trade areas, to discuss and resolve specific issues of concern.
This was the first high-level interaction between the two nations since the brief conflict between India and Pakistan last month in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.