NSA Doval set to meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday
The Indo-China border standoff is expected to figure in their talks, people familiar with the matter said
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday on the margins of a Brics meeting in Russia, with the border standoff expected to figure in their talks, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Doval, who is in St Petersburg to attend a meeting of Brics NSAs and senior officials responsible for security matters, had a brief encounter with Wang, who is also a foreign minister and member of the political bureau of the Chinese Communist Party’s central committee.
Images showed Doval and Wang, who are also special representatives on the border issue, exchanging pleasantries during their encounter, though there was no official word from both sides. The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that the two NSAs are set to meet in St Petersburg on Thursday morning.
India has said that the overall relationship with China cannot be normalised without peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Bilateral ties were taken to a six-decade low by the standoff on the LAC, which began in April-May 2020.
Doval is also expected to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu amid a fresh push for peace talks to help end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. All NSAs of the Brics grouping, whose member states have grown to 10 with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While participating in sessions of the Brics NSAs’ meeting on Wednesday, Doval spoke on modern security challenges, including ICT-related issues and terrorism, and the need to address them through joint efforts within the grouping’s framework.
Doval highlighted the need for multilateralism at a time when existing global mechanisms are incapable of tackling modern threats.
“The wide participation in our meeting today testifies to the fact that there is an urgent need to reform multilateralism if we are to restore credibility. Old ways of handling sensitive issues of common concern are no longer capable of addressing modern threats and new situations,” he said.
“In this context, I’m particularly happy that countries of the Global South are present with us today in St Petersburg. India’s global outreach is rooted in the fundamental principle of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbhakam’ which means ‘the world is one family’,” he added.
Doval also listed the reasons why the strengths of Brics are “very crucial”. He said: “The Brics spirit of mutual respect and understanding, solidarity, equality, openness, inclusiveness and consensus remains our guiding light as we deliberate today on many crucial issues.”