India and China agree to intensify border talks

India's foreign ministry says two leaders met on sidelines of SCO summit in Astana

NEW DELH:

 India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday in Kazakhstan where the two leaders agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border at the earliest, New Delhi said in a statement.

"The two ministers agreed that the prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side," India's foreign ministry said after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana.

The talks occurred amid a five-year border standoff,

During the SCO summit in Kazakhstan. Jaishankar emphasized that India-China relations should be based on mutual respect, interest, and sensitivity.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated in a press release that the two ministers had a thorough discussion on finding a prompt resolution to the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.