PM Modi-Xi Jinping one-on-one LIVE: Doklam unlikely to feature in talks

September 5, 2017 Fourth India News Team International 0

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Chinese town of Xiamen attending the ninth BRICS Summit, will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping today. This will be the first bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two neighbouring nations after the over 70-day Doklam border standoff.

According to external affairs ministry officials, Modi will meet Xi at 12.30 pm (10 am IST), the prime minister’s last official engagement before flying off to Myanmar on a bilateral visit.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. During the meeting, which is taking place amidst efforts from the two sides to leave the bitterness caused by the 73-day face-off between their troops in Dokalam in the Sikkim sector, sources said the two leaders are expected to discuss ways to create confidence building measures.
  2. However, they refused to divulge details about the issues to be discussed.
  3. The sense is that both countries want to “move on” after the standoff.
  4. The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army.

    World leaders at 9th BRICS Summit, Xiamen, China

  5. On August 28, India’s External Affairs Ministry announced that New Delhi and Beijing have decided on “expeditious disengagement” of their border troops in the disputed Dokalam area.
  6. Asked if there was any link between the BRICS declaration which for the first time named Pakistan-based terror groups for their violent activities and resolution of the Dokalam standoff, Secretary (East) in the MEA Preeti Saran answered in the negative, saying BRICS is a multilateral forum where outcomes are based on consensus. “It cannot be linked,” she added.
  7. Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang told the media in Beijing that “details of the meeting we will release in due course.”
  8. Apart from Xi, Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with the President of Egypt, which is among the five counties – Mexico, Guinea, Thailand and Tajikistan — invited by China as part of ‘BRICS Plus’ outreach exercise.
  9. Xi and his wife hosted a banquet for the BRICS leaders this evening followed by Chinese cultural extravaganza.
  10. Modi, who attended the banquet along with other leaders, also interacted informally with the leaders of the guest countries.

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