Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 2: In the midst of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met with his Chinese colleague Qin Gang on Thursday. This was the two presidents’ first ever such bilateral conversation.
The topic of conversation between Jaishankar and Gang was how to handle the difficulties now facing India and China’s bilateral relations. The meeting’s main topic was maintaining serenity and peace along the border.
“Met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on sidelines of #G20FMM this afternoon. Our discussions were focused on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship, especially peace and tranquillity in the border areas. We also spoke about the G20 agenda,” Jaishankar tweeted after meeting Gang in the national capital.
EAM Dr S Jaishankar & Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Delhi pic.twitter.com/Z2awrdNO5k
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2023
The long-running Ladakh border dispute is thought to have come up during the G20 FM meeting between the two leaders. The conference can be seen as a continuation of the advancements made by India and China in their 17 rounds of high-level military-level negotiations about the situation in Ladakh. Since taking over for his predecessor Wang Yi in December of last year, this is Qin Gang’s first trip to New Delhi.
Prior to his meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Jaishankar spoke with his American colleague Antony Blinken. They discussed bilateral relations as well as a number of international concerns, including the situation in the Ukraine and Russia.