India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar yesterday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kazakhstan where the two agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border, New Delhi said in a statement.
India and China share a long Himalayan border, much of it poorly demarcated, and relations between the two countries have been sour since a military standoff in July 2020.
India said Jaishankar met Wang on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana where they agreed that “prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side.”
The two agreed to enhance meetings between their diplomatic and military officials “to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest,” the Indian foreign ministry said. China and India should properly handle their differences and ensure relations advance on a stable track, a Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Wang as saying during the talks.
“We must maintain a positive mindset, properly handle and control the situation in the border areas on the one hand, and actively resume normal exchanges on the other hand,” Wang said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in April that the two countries should urgently address the “prolonged situation” on their border.
