• By Abhishek Sheoran
  • Fri, 25 Aug 2023 07:19 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to ‘intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation’ at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both nations are embattled at the LAC since the violent face-off in June 2020 in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Apprising media about the development, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “Prime Minister had interactions with other BRICS leaders. In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of  China, the Prime Minister highlighted India's concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas.

Prime Minister underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship. In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation".

Earlier, PM Modi and Jinping were seen exchanging a handshake and in brief conversation with each other at the BRICS Summit in the South African capital city of Johannesburg.

This was the first interaction between the two leaders after the meeting at the G20 dinner in Bali last November. In November 2022, Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping exchanged pleasantries at the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The two armies recently held the 19th round of corps commander-level talks. According to a statement by the Ministry of external affairs, “They 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 the peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas".

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