Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa's national capital Johannesburg, for the much-anticipated BRICS Summit, held a brief interaction with Chinese President Xi Jinping just before the leaders held a joint press conference on Thursday. However, the details of the conversation are yet to be revealed.
Notably, both leaders have not sat together ever since a deadly clash erupted in the border regions of India and China in 2020.
PM Modi and Xi had a brief interaction on the Galwan clash last year
This was not the first time when the two Asian giants held a brief conversation. When the leaders met during the G20 Summit in Bali last year, they had a brief interaction. Initially, the Ministry of External Affairs denied both leaders discussed any issues and called the meeting a "welcome gesture". However, earlier last month, the ministry confirmed that PM Modi and the Chinese President had discussed border issues when they met briefly at the Bali Summit.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that both of them exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize bilateral relationships or relations. "During the Bali G20 Summit last year, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, after the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations," Bagchi said in a regular press conference.
"I think the Foreign Secretary did mention maybe he didn't mention the second part of it. He did talk about exchanging courtesies and I think there was a general discussion or spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relationship or relations," he added.
No information on bilateral talks yet
According to the schedule, the Prime Minister will hold back-to-back meetings with member countries besides attending BRICS Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. Despite being a jam-packed schedule, the major highlight would be if the Indian PM met Chinese President Xi Jinping before leaving the event.
As of now, neither the Ministry of External Affairs nor the Prime Minister's Office clarified any planned meeting between the two leaders. However, there were reports that the PM will hold meetings with the heads of five countries including Iran, Ethiopia and Mozambique but it did not mention the names of the other two nations.
Foreign Secy gave a cryptic reply
While addressing a special press conference on Monday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra gave a cryptic reply to the reporters who asked him about the possibility of PM Modi meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not give a direct reply on the possibility of a meeting but instead said that the schedule of the Prime Minister's bilateral meetings is being finalised.
Notably, both sides have not sat together ever since a clash broke out between the Indian Army and China's PLA in 2020. During the violent clash, at least 20 Indian soldiers were martyred but Beijing did not provide any details of casualties.
If the bilateral meeting takes place, it will be their first since the India-China border standoff began.
