Moscow : NSA Ajit Doval met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers' meeting. During their discussions, Doval emphasised that maintaining peace and tranquility in border areas, as well as respecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC), are essential for restoring normalcy in bilateral relations between India and China.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, met Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi on September 12 in Saint Petersburg, Russia on the sidelines of the Meeting of BRICS High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters/National Security Advisers, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
The meeting gave India and China an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations. Both sides agreed to work with urgency and redouble their efforts to realise complete disengagement in the remaining areas.
NSA Doval conveyed that peace and tranquility in borders areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached in the past by the two governments.
The two sides also agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not just for the two countries but also for the region and the world.
The two sides also exchanged views on the global and regional situation, the release added.
Earlier in the day, Ajit Doval also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and exchanged a handshake.
The Russian Embassy in India shared pictures on X and said, "On September 12, Russia's President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg."
Russia is holding the BRICS chairmanship for the year 2024. BRICS is an informal group of states comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with new members Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joining the grouping in 2023. NSA Doval had participated in the 13th BRICS NSA meeting in Johannesburg in July 2023.