Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Saturday said the issue of Kashmir was not discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during India-China's second informal summit. Addressing the media, the foreign secretary said, "Kashmir issue was not raised and not discussed. Our position is anyways very clear that this is an internal matter of India."
Further commenting on the Modi-Xi meet, Gokhale said Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China, for the next summit.
Prime Minister Modi has accepted the invitation and the dates for the same will be worked out later, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
"There was a new focus on people to people relations. It was decided that the people of both countries must be brought in the relationship," Gokhale said, adding a new mechanism will be established to discuss trade, investment and services, at an elevated level.
From China, it will be the Vice Premier, Hu Chunhua and from India, it will be FM Nirmala Sitharaman, the foreign secretary said.
"The two leaders today had a conversation for almost 90 minutes, which was followed by delegation-level talks and then lunch was hosted by PM Modi," Gokhale said, adding a total of 6 hours of one to one meeting was held between the two leaders during this summit.
Commenting on Xi's talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gokhale said, "President Xi spoke of greater facilitation for pilgrims going to the Mansarovar Yatra and Prime Minister suggested a number of ideas on the connection between the state of Tamil Nadu and the Fujian province of China."
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday departed from Chennai for Nepal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a fresh round of one-on-one discussion on Saturday at a tranquil beach resort overlooking the Bay of Bengal in Kovalam on the second and final day of the informal summit, signalling an intent to refashion ties for greater bilateral cooperation.
After around hour-long talks at the Fisherman's Cove resort, the two leaders took a stroll along the beach and were seen engaged in a discussion.
Xi arrived in Mamallapuram on Friday after which Modi and Xi held a two-and-a-half-hour “open and cordial” one-on-one discussion over dinner, vowing to jointly combat terrorism and radicalisation, and expand bilateral trade and investment.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, Modi, dressed in a Tamil attire of Veshti (Dhoti), white shirt and an ‘angavastram’, took Xi for a guided tour of the famous world heritage sites of Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna's Butterball, the Pancha Ratha and Shore temple in this ancient temple town, kicking off the second informal summit between the two leaders.
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