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Before the conference started in earnest, the Prime Minister and the Chinese President were pictured having a brief conversation before taking their designated seats.
Post the briefing, the two leaders were also seen shaking hands on the stage.
PM Modi conveyed to Xi India’s concerns on the “unresolved” issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, underlining that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for normalisation of India-China ties.
Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said this at a media briefing on Thursday, while sharing details of a conversation between the two leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit as well as Modi’s overall engagements in Johannesburg.
The foreign secretary said Modi and Xi agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at “expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”.
PM Modi and Xi also came together in Samarkand in 2022 for the SCO summit but there was no bilateral meeting even though the summit took place barely a week after India and China resolved the standoff at the Gogra friction point.
India and China have been in a stand-off situation for the last three years and relations at all levels have deteriorated due to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides have held 19 rounds of talks so far to address the boundary issues in eastern Ladakh since 2020.
PM Modi arrived in South Africa for the 15th Brics Summit on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are six nations who will be the joining the Brics from January 2024.
Supporting the decision to induct new nations, PM Modi said that India has always believed in addition of new members to Brics will further strengthen and give our shared efforts a new impetus.
Watch Open to expanding BRICS membership, but with consensus and after finalising criteria: PM Narendra Modi
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