(TibetanReview.net, Nov20’24) –While China said it discussed the resumption of direct flights, exchange of journalists, and facilitation of visa issuance process during its foreign minister Wang Yi’s meeting with Indian External Affair Minister EAM S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro on Nov 19, India says it also discussed steps to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage.
A press release issued by the Indian foreign ministry said the two sides discussed steps to resume the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage.
Mansarovar is a freshwater lake in eastern Tibet near Mount Kailash, and both are places of pilgrimage attracting Hindu and other devotees from India and neighbouring countries.
“Among the steps discussed were the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights between India and China, and media exchanges,” the press release read.
The two leaders also discussed maintaining peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), following a recent thaw in ties after PM Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Russia’s Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, reported the wionews.com Nov 19.
“The Ministers recognized that the disengagement in our border areas had contributed to the maintenance of peace and tranquillity. The discussions focused on the next steps in India-China relations. It was agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives and of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will take place soon,” the press release said.
Stating India’s position on global and regional issues, the Indian foreign ministry also said, “EAM said that we are strongly committed to a multipolar world, including a multipolar Asia. Where India is concerned, its foreign policy has been principled and consistent, marked by independent thought and action. We are against unilateral approaches to establish dominance. India does not view its relationships through the prism of other nations.”
The Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage stopped in 2020 after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The year also saw Sino-India relation plummet after the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh. As a result, the officially organized pilgrimage never resumed, with Indians wishing to take privately arranged pilgrimage through Nepal also being effectively prevented by China.