Rajnath Singh Meets Chinese Defence Minister On SCO Sidelines, Presents This Gift

Singh conveyed his satisfaction regarding the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after six years while the discussions focused on bilateral relations.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Don Jun, at the SCO Summit in Qingdao.

Source : X/@rajnathsingh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held talks with Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Don Jun on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Qingdao, China. 

During the meeting, Singh expressed his happiness over the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of six years, he said in a post on X. 

"Held talks with Admiral Don Jun, the Defence Minister of China, on the sidelines of SCO Defence Minitsers’ Meeting in Qingdao. We had a constructive and forward looking exchange of views on issues pertaining to bilateral relations," Singh said in the post.

The bilateral talks come as a leap in the India-China ties which witnessed diplomatic tensions after a border standoff. However, both countries have sought to mend ties as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at the start of this year. 

During the meeting, Singh presented a Madhubani painting from Bihar. 

The Union minister also met Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov on the sidelines of the summit. "We had insightful deliberations on boosting India-Russia defence ties," Singh said. 

The defence minister arrived in China on Thursday for the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting. He was welcomed by Dong Jun upon his arrival in the neighbouring country. 

On June 23, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and reviewed recent developments in India-China relations. The two sides also underscored the need to promote the overall development of the bilateral ties, including by fostering greater people-to-people ties. 

During the meeting, Doval stressed the need to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to maintain peace and stability in the region. 

The two leaders also discussed other bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest, as per the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. 

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared a statement on X saying, "NSA Ajit Doval met Chinese FM Wang Yi in Beijing today. Discussions focused on bilateral, regional & international issues of mutual interest."