The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a discussion on border issues between the two countries. The two leaders also talked about stabilising bilateral issues, during their meeting at the G20 Summit last year in Indonesia’s Bali.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the two leaders “exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations".
“During the Bali G20 Summit last year, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, at the conclusion of the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations. I think 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," Bagchi said.
#WATCH | MEA Spox Arindam Bagchi says, “During the Bali G20 Summit last year, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, at the conclusion of the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations… I think… pic.twitter.com/Z3FVhPVrL9— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2023
The statement comes two days after the Chinese foreign ministry, after a meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Johannesburg, claimed that Xi and Modi had reached an “important consensus" on stabilising bilateral ties during their interaction on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in November 2023.
Earlier, it was reported that PM Modi and the Chinese Premier only exchanged greetings. Prime Minister Modi had met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali during the G20 Summit in November last year.
This was the first meeting between the two leaders since the Galwan Valley clash between the troops from both sides in 2020 sparked bilateral tensions.