Dushanbe: The Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in his meet with State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi stressed upon the upon early resolution of ‘remaining issues along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in Eastern Ladakh’.
According to the press press release issued by the MEA, the meeting between the two foreign minister s took part on 16th September 2021 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on the sidelines of the 21st SCO Meeting of the Head of States.
The two Ministers exchanged views on the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh as well as on global developments.
“EAM noted that since their last meeting on 14th July the two sides had made some progress in the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and had completed the disengagement in Gogra area. However there were still some outstanding issues that needed to be resolved,” the MEA stated..
“In this context EAM recalled that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had in their last meeting noted that the bilateral relations were at low ebb. Both sides had agreed that a prolongation of the existing situation was not in the interest of the either side as it was impacting the relationship in a negative manner. EAM therefore emphasized that the two sides should work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,”.
According to the statement the Jaishankar underlined that it was necessary to ensure progress in resolution of remaining issues so as to restore peace and tranquility along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh noting that peace and tranquility in the border areas has been an essential basis for progress in the bilateral relations.
“In this regard, the Ministers agreed that military and diplomatic officials of the two sides should meet again and continue their discussions to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest,” the statement said..
“The two Ministers also exchanged views on the recent global developments. EAM conveyed that India had never subscribed to any clash of civilisations theory. He said that India and China had to deal with each other on merits and establish a relationship based on mutual respect. For this, it was necessary that China avoid viewing our bilateral relations from the perspective of its relations with third countries. Asian solidarity would depend on the example set by India-China relations”.