Johannesburg, (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping over “unresolved issues” along the Line of Actual Control in the western sector of the India-China border areas, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.
Briefing the media over Modi’s visit here in South Africa, the Foreign Secretary said, “PM Modi underlined that maintenance of peace, tranquillity in border areas, respecting LAC is essential for the normalisation of India-China relationship”.
“In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation” he informed.
Recently, the 19th round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on August 13 and 14.
The two sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the western sector.
The External Affairs Ministry said that they exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner in line with the guidance provided by the leadership. Both sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels.
In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas.
Regarding the BRICS issues, the foreign secretary said a major outcome of the Summit is the decision of the BRICS leaders to expand its membership to include six new members.
Kwatra informed that these six members are Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The Foreign Secretary said that PM Modi spoke about an important element, the need to develop resilient and inclusive supply chains.
The Foreign Secretary informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted that the BRICS Business Forum is one of the key pillars of Intra-BRICS partnership. He informed that the Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of mutual trust and transparency in the intra-BRICS country.
“The BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue sessions were productive. Got the opportunity to interact with leaders from Africa and reiterate India’s commitment to supporting African nations in order to further global prosperity” Modi said earlier in a post on social media.
