(Bloomberg) — India’s foreign minister met with his Chinese counterpart Friday, saying there’s been “some notable developments” made between the two nations in a bid to improve relations.
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ summit in Johannesburg, their first in-person meeting since the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.
“Such gatherings have provided an opportunity for our interaction even when our ties were going through a difficult phase,” Jaishankar said, according to a readout of the meeting. “We should also recognize that in a polarized global situation, our two countries have worked hard to preserve and protect the G-20 as an institution. This in itself testifies to the importance of international cooperation.”
Relations between New Delhi and Beijing soured significantly in 2020 after a series of deadly border skirmishes, with India subsequently restricting visas and investment and banning Chinese smartphone apps. The two nations began restoring ties last year and recently agreed to resume direct flights and facilitate visas for travel.
The Friday meeting lasted about 30 minutes and the two ministers discussed “developments in bilateral relations since their last meeting in November, specifically management of peace and tranquility in the border areas, resumption of pilgrimage, trans-border rivers, flight connectivity and travel facilitation,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters on Friday. They also exchanged views about the G-20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, he said.
The G-20 meeting has been marred by the US’s snub of the event. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to attend this week’s meeting in protest at what he said was an attempt by South Africa to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, and tackle climate change.
(Updates with comments from India’s government.)
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