NEW DELHI / ISTANBUL

Indian and Chinese foreign ministers held talks to review “progress” on the border deal announced last month.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

“We noted the progress made in the recent disengagement in the border areas between India and China,” Jaishankar said on X, adding that the two sides exchanged views on the next steps in bilateral relations and discussed of the world situation.

New Delhi and Beijing agreed last month to a deal on military patrols along their disputed Himalayan border.

Since May 2020, the two Asian giants have clashed along the 3,500-kilometer (2,174-mile) Line of Actual Control – their de facto border in the Ladakh region of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.

In July of the same year, at least 24 soldiers, 20 Indian and four Chinese, were killed in clashes. This led to a tense and long-running standoff that saw both sides deploy thousands of troops and heavy weapons to the region.

Following the border deal, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met formally for the first time in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia.

According to a report of the meeting released by Beijing, Wang told Jaishankar that China and India “have far more common interests than differences.”

Stressing that the two Himalayan neighbors pursue a “non-aligned foreign policy”, Wang said the two sides should continue to “strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs and promote greater development of the BRICS mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Noting that next year would mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, Wang said: “The two sides should plan commemorative activities, encourage exchanges and visits in all fields and at all levels, and strengthen mutual understanding and relationships. trust.”

“We must strive to make concrete progress by resuming direct flights, sending journalists to each other and facilitating visas as soon as possible,” he added.

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