India, China to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, direct flights
Two sides also agree to hold early meeting of India-China expert-level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers
Five years after it was halted, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is all set to be kicked off as part of a bilateral deal between India and China on Monday (January 27). The two countries have also agreed in principle to restore direct flights while announcing several other measures to "rebuild" bilateral ties over two-and-a-half months after their militaries completed disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.
The decisions were announced after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held wide-ranging talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing.
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Meet on trans-border rivers
The two sides also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China expert level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The foreign secretary also met Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Liu Jianchao.
Misri and Sun reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild ties", the MEA said in a statement.
Resumption of flights
"In this context, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025; the relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements," it said.
The MEA said it was also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China expert level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers," it said.
"They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries; the relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date," it said.
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Media, think-tank interactions
The two sides agreed to take appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions, it added.
"The two sides also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China expert level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers," the MEA said.
It also referred to the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October last year.
As agreed between Modi and Xi at their meeting in Kazan, Foreign Secretary Misri and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations "comprehensively" and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild ties", the MEA said.
Stress on functional exchanges
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as well as direct flights between the two countries were suspended in 2020.
"The two sides recognise that 2025, being the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, should be utilised to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public," the MEA said.
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It said the two sides also took stock of the extant mechanisms for "functional exchanges".
"It was agreed to resume these dialogues step by step and to utilize them to address each other's priority areas of interest and concern," the MEA said.
"Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability," it added.
Revival of ties
Misri began his two-day trip to Beijing on Sunday primarily to hold talks with Sun.
The meeting between Misri and Sun marked the revival of the foreign secretary-vice foreign minister level dialogue mechanism.
Last month, 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.
The decision to revive the SR mechanism and other such dialogue formats was taken at the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan on October 23.
In the nearly 50-minute meeting, Modi had underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility in border areas.
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Disengagement at Ladakh
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 resuming 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 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.
(With inputs from agencies)