LOC23:15
20:15 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (KUNA) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed the steady progress in India-China relationship as he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said Modi received Wang Yi and emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility on the border, and reiterated India's commitment to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.
Modi also welcomed the steady and positive progress in bilateral ties guided by mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity since his meeting with Chinese President Xi in Kazan last year.
The Chinese Foreign Minister co-chaired the 24th round of the Special Representatives' dialogue on the Boundary Question between India and China with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
The Chinese Foreign Minister held on Monday bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
During the Special Representatives' dialogue, India and China spoke positively of the progress made in the implementation of the important leader-level consensus in Kazan.
Both the sides reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas to promote overall development of the India-China bilateral relationship.
The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on India-China boundary question and agreed upon the need to take a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question.
Both sides agreed to set up an Expert Group to explore early harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas in addition to a Working Group to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas.
"They also agreed to use the border management mechanisms at diplomatic and military levels to carry forward the process of border management, and discuss de-escalation, beginning with the principles and modalities thereof," the statement said.
During Jaishankar's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, the two sides had positive, constructive and forward-looking discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest.
Both the sides agreed that a stable, cooperative and forward-looking relationship between India and China is in the mutual interest of the two countries to realize their development potential fully.
They also agreed to implement understanding of leadership and promote sustained and steady development of India-China relations. Both sides agreed to resume direct flight connectivity between Chinese mainland and India at the earliest, and finalize an updated Air Services Agreement.
The two sides exchanged views on trans-border rivers cooperation and the Chinese side agreed to share hydrological information during emergencies based on humanitarian considerations.
Both sides agreed to the re-opening of border trade through the three designated trading points and agreed to facilitate trade and investment flows between the two countries through concrete measures.
Both sides agreed to uphold multilateralism, enhance communication major international and regional issues, maintain a rules-based multilateral trading system with WTO at its core, and promote a multipolar world, that safeguards the interest of developing countries. (end)
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