India, China agree to resume direct flights soon

New Delhi: India and China have agreed to expedite steps to resume direct air services between the two countries and also hold talks to resolve trade issues.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who is on a two-day visit to New Delhi from June 12 -13.

“The Foreign Secretary hoped for the early conclusion of an updated Air Services Agreement. The two sides further agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and exchanges between media and think-tanks,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday.

The two countries have agreed to hold certain functional dialogues, including in the economic and trade areas, to discuss and resolve specific issues of concern, the statement said.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the developments in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Beijing on January 27 and agreed to continue to stabilise and rebuild ties with a priority on people-centric engagements, according to the statement.

Foreign Secretary Misri appreciated the Chinese side’s cooperation for the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. He noted the discussion in the April meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism for cooperation in trans-border rivers for the resumption of the provision of hydrological data and other cooperation, and hoped for progress on this.

The two countries also positively assessed the activities planned under the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China and agreed to facilitate the same, the statement added.

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is resuming this month after a gap of five years, with the first batch of 750 pilgrims ready to depart for the holy site. The resumption is seen as a positive step towards improving India-China relations, which had come under strain due to the prolonged military build-up in Ladakh. The resumption of the yatra and talks with China follows an easing in border tensions between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary Misri visited Beijing in January this year as part of efforts to improve the diplomatic relations between the two Asian giants.

IANS