New Delhi

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart, FM Wang Yi, on Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 meeting in South Africa's capital city, Johannesburg, to review developments in bilateral ties, focusing on direct flights and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

Jaishankar took to his social media platform X to post about the meeting: "The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg provided an opportunity to meet CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi of China this morning on its sidelines."

Separately, addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "The two ministers reviewed developments in the bilateral relationship since their last meeting in November, specifically the management of peace and tranquility in border areas."

The management of peace and tranquility in border areas, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, resumption of direct flight connectivity, and travel facilitation were discussed during the meeting.

There was also an exchange of views on the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the MEA spokesperson added.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had visited Beijing on 26th-27th January this year for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism between India and China on 27th January.

A statement from the MEA said, "As agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the two sides reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilise and rebuild ties."

The two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025, with the relevant mechanism to discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements.

India organises the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra annually between June and September through the Lipulekh Pass (since 1981) in Uttarakhand and the Nathu La Pass (since 2015) in Sikkim.

Before flights were suspended due to the pandemic and the Galwan clash in 2020, the two countries had 539 direct flights per month, with a total seat capacity of over 1.25 lakh.

Another significant announcement after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's meeting in Beijing in January this year was the resumption of direct air services between the two countries. Relevant technical authorities on both sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date, the MEA said.

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As 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, the two sides noted that it should be used to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public. The two sides also stated they would conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark this anniversary.

Today's meeting between Jaishankar and Wang comes after the two met on 18th November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.