Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an informal meet in Wuhan city on April 27 and 28. The announcement was made after delegation level talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Besides, the two nations have also agreed upon resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Nathu Lu route in Sikkim. The pilgrimage was stopped 10 months ago in the aftermath of the military face-off regarding the Dokalam standoff.
Talking about the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, it is organized annually by the Ministry of External Affairs from June to September. It is usually organized through two routes namely- Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
India referred to maintaining peace at the border areas with China as an ‘essential pre-requisite” to ensure smooth bilateral ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, China has also agreed to resume the sharing of hydrological data of Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers.
Evidently, this data is quite crucial to predicting floods in the northeastern region of India that is prone to natural calamities. China annually provides the flood season data of the river between May 15 and October 15.
Sushma Swaraj, while attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, also exchanged views on Cooperation and discussed perspectives on counter-terrorism and collaborative efforts to address global challenges like climate change.
This informal summit is going to be PM Modi’s fourth visit to China since he assumed power and second bilateral visit. As a build-up to this summit, the two countries have held at least 8 meetings at several forums in the past 2 months.
