BRICS Summit 2024: PM Modi, Xi Jinping to hold first bilateral in 5 years days after LAC breakthrough

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia's Kazan city, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed.

He, however, did not confirm the timing of the meeting. This is the first formal meeting between the two leaders of state in 5 years. 

"I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Tuesday night.  

The development came a day after the Central government announced India and China have reached an agreement to resume patrolling at the remaining tension points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Tensions have persisted between the Indian and Chinese armies since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. Misri said at the press conference that the discussions with the Chinese interlocutors is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that arose after Chinese offensive in eastern Ladakh in 2020. 

"Now as a result of the discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks an agreement has been arrived at on the patrolling arrangements along the line of actual control in the India-China border areas and this is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arise in these areas in 2020," he said. 

The Chinese side also confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the armies of the two nations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that a resolution has been reached on "relevant matters" and that it will work with New Delhi to implement these resolutions. 

Before this, PM Modi and Xi had a formal and structured meeting in Mahabalipuram in October 2019. There was only one formal meeting between the two leaders since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. 

In August 2023, one meeting was held between the two leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa's Johannesburg. A brief informal meeting was also held during the G20 summit in Bali. 

The summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), which now has expanded with five additional members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, is being held in the Russian city of Kazan, about 900 km east of Moscow, from October 22 to 24.