PM Modi will travel to China for SCO Summit: NSA Doval

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China to attend the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said on Tuesday during his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

In his televised opening remarks at a new edition of the Special Representatives’ Dialogue on boundary question, Doval also highlighted the “new energy and momentum” in India–China ties as well as peace along the border.

There has been peace and tranquillity along the border, Doval said, adding “the bilateral engagements between the two countries have been “more substantial” now.

Our prime minister will be visiting China for the SCO summit and therefore, today’s talks assume very special importance, he added.

It is the first official confirmation of Modi’s travel to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the summit on August 31 and September 1.

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Doval hoped that the 24th Special Representatives (SR) talks will be “successful”.

The Chinese foreign minister landed in Delhi on Monday primarily to hold the SR talks with Doval.

Wang’s visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

In the SR talks, both sides are expected to deliberate on new confidence-building measures besides reviewing the overall situation along the LAC.

Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.

NSA Doval travelled to China in December last and held the SR talks with Wang, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan.

The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

In the last few months, the two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.

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