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The 23rd Meeting of the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China, was held in Beijing on Wednesday, with discussions focussed on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border.
The meeting was attended by Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor (NSA) and Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister and Member of the CPC Central Committee. Doval also invited Wang Yi to visit India at a mutually convenient date to hold the next round of SR meeting. "The 23d Meeting of the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China, respectively Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor of India, and Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was held in Beijing on December 18, 2024," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release. The MEA further said that the SRs met in accordance with the decision taken during the recent meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan for them to meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. The SRs also reiterated the importance of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for the settlement of the boundary question, and resolved to inject more vitality into this process. "Both SRs underlined the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas to promote the overall development of the India-China bilateral relationship. They emphasised the need to ensure peaceful conditions on the ground so that issues on the border do not hold back the normal development of bilateral relations. Drawing on the learnings from the events of 2020, they discussed various measures to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border and advance effective border management. They decided to use, coordinate and guide the relevant diplomatic and military mechanisms towards this purpose," the MEA added. The SRs also exchanged views on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade. They also agreed on the salience of stable, predictable and amicable India-China relations for regional and global peace and prosperity. Notably, this was the first meeting of the SRs since friction had emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in 2020. The SRs positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas. (ANI)
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