India and China on Monday agreed to restart the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which had been halted since 2020. The decision was taken during the meeting between foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
“The relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements. They 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,” a statement by the ministry of external affairs stated.
Both parties also reached a preliminary agreement to restart direct flights. India and China have also concurred to enhance and support interactions among people, particularly between media organizations and think tanks.
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“The two sides 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. 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,” the MEA added.
The MEA stated that the revival of this bilateral framework arises from the consensus at the leadership level to evaluate the forthcoming actions for India-China relations, encompassing political, economic, and interpersonal aspects.
India has asserted that its relationship with China cannot return to normal unless there is tranquility in the border regions.
After the disengagement process was finalized in Demchok and Depsang, the Indian and Chinese militaries began patrolling the two regions again after a hiatus of nearly four-and-a-half years.
