New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Ahead of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to China, India on Friday said all issues of bilateral interest will be discussed between the two sides during his trip.
Misri is travelling to Beijing on Sunday on a two-day trip to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart as part of efforts by the two sides to take forward bilateral ties following the disengagement of troops at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Last month, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi under the framework of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary dispute.
All issues of bilateral interest will be discussed, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
Asked whether the proposed resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra would figure in the talks, he suggested that it could be part of the dialogue.
Jaiswal said the resumption of the dialogue mechanism flowed from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations.
It is expected that the two sides would touch upon a number of issues at the talks including ways to de-escalate the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
China has been impressing upon India to agree on resuming direct flights between the two countries and facilitate issuance of visas to Chinese citizens.
The decision to revive the SR mechanism and other such dialogue formats was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan on October 23 last year.
In the nearly 50-minute meeting, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes, and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
The Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.
In the SR dialogue, India pressed for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the overall boundary dispute between the two countries.
Doval and Wang also focused on “positive” direction for cross-border cooperation, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, river data sharing and border trade.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
Following the completion of the disengagement process in Demchok and Depsang, Indian and Chinese militaries also resumed patrolling activities in the two areas after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years. PTI MPB DIV DIV
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