India and China held the sixth round of dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation in New Delhi on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “The two sides exchanged views on a variety of issues of mutual interest related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,” the ministry added.
The dialogue was held within the framework of regular bilateral exchanges. The Indian delegation was led by Indra Mani Pandey, who is the additional secretary of disarmament and international security affairs in the ministry. The Chinese delegation was led by Ambassador Fu Cong, the director general of the Department of Arms Control at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two countries decided to continue the dialogue at regular intervals. The Indian delegation was also invited to Beijing for the next round of consultations at a mutually convenient time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also host Chinese President Xi Jinping this year at an informal summit, Reuters had reported on May 29, quoting an unidentified Indian foreign ministry spokesperson. “The two sides are in touch, through diplomatic channels, to finalise the date and venue for the meeting,” the spokesperson had told the news agency.
In April 2018, Modi and Xi held the first informal summit in Chinese city of Wuhan. Xi had then accepted Modi’s invitation to come to India for the second meeting.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may visit Beijing in September ahead of the informal summit, PTI quoted unidentified diplomatic officials as saying.
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