Border issue and stranded students raised in first meeting since clashes

For Indian professor Karori Singh, the face-to-face discussions of Indian and Chinese foreign ministers once again show that two of the oldest civilizations are shouldering global responsibility to peace and prosperity.

In New Delhi on Friday Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for diplomacy and dialogue to end the Ukraine crisis.

Singh, former director of the South Asia Studies Centre at the University of Rajasthan, said the ministerial level talk enhances their evolving common approach and collaboration on global issues for shaping the emerging world order and world peace.

Briefing the media after the talks, Jaishankar said: "On Ukraine we discussed our respective approaches and perspective but agreed that diplomacy and dialogue must be the priority."

Both countries emphasized the importance of a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two have adopted a similar stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict over the past month, including at the United Nations.

Wang also met Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday. It was the first visit by a prominent Chinese official since the Galwan Valley clash of border soldiers in which both sides suffered casualties in June 2020.

The visit was a positive step "as it came after a long time and it was long overdue", said Ritu Agarwal, an associate professor at the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.