India and China have also decided to speed up work on resuming direct commercial flights and establishing channels of dialogue to resolve issues on trade-related issues, as part of an effort to improve bilateral relations.
This was made known at a high-level meeting in New Delhi between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who arrived on a two-day official visit from June 12 to 13.
As per a statement issued by India's Ministry of External Affairs on Friday, "The Foreign Secretary expressed the hope for early realization of a revised Air Services Agreement. The two sides also agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and media and think-tank exchanges."
Both sides have vowed to launch functional discussions—specifically in areas such as economics and trade—to define and resolve certain friction points, the statement said.
The negotiations also featured a comprehensive exchange on achievements in bilateral relations following the previous encounter between the two envoys in Beijing on January 27. The two sides reiterated their commitment to further promoting stability and rebuilding relations with an emphasis on people-to-people ties.
China's cooperation in initiating the resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of five years, which is scheduled to resume this month, was welcomed by Foreign Secretary Misri. He also mentioned that there were discussions being conducted in April in accordance with the Expert Level Mechanism for trans-border river cooperation and that he hoped there would be renewed exchange of hydrological information and increased cooperation on this front.
Besides, both countries commended the events scheduled to be held to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the development of diplomatic relations and committed to assisting these memorial activities.
The resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage is also being interpreted as a symbolic move in a bid to enhance diplomatic ties. The first group of 750 Indian pilgrims will undertake the holy trip this month. The resumption of the annual yatra comes amidst a gradual reduction of border tensions in the Ladakh sector, where a long-standing military face-off had resulted in major strains in bilateral relations.
Foreign Secretary Misri’s earlier visit to Beijing in January was part of broader diplomatic efforts to mend and deepen relations between the two regional powers.
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