Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on Wednesday on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Russia, in their first structured meeting in the last five years. The meeting took place two days after India and China firmed up an agreement on patrolling by their militaries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.
During the bilateral meeting, PM Modi said, "We are having a formal meeting after 5 years. We believe that the India-China relationship is very important not only for our people but also for global peace, stability and progress."
"We welcome the consensus reached on the issues that have arisen in the last 4 years on the border. Maintaining peace and stability on the border should remain our priority. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of our relations," he added.
In November 2022, PM Modi and Xi exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation at a dinner hosted by the Indonesian President for the G20 leaders. In August last year too, the Indian prime minister and the Chinese president held a brief and informal conversation in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit. The two leaders last held a structured meeting during their second informal summit in Mamallapuram in October 2019. The eastern Ladakh border row erupted in May 2020.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)
