NSA Ajit Doval likely to travel to Beijing to attend Special Representatives dialogue

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval (Reuters)

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is likely to travel to Beijing within the next few weeks to lead the Indian delegation at a new edition of the Special Representatives dialogue on the larger boundary question that will be held after a gap of nearly five years, news agency PTI reported quoting authoritative sources.

The decision to revive the dialogue mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan on October 23.

NSA Doval is travelling to China soon to attend the 23 round of SR talks, the sources said. The SR dialogue may take place later this month or early January, said one of the sources.

The last round of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue took place in New Delhi in December 2019.

There was no official word yet on the venue for the SR dialogue. In their diplomatic talks on December 5, India and China prepared for the upcoming SR dialogue.

While India's Special Representative for the dialogue is NSA Doval, the Chinese side is headed at the talks by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. There was no SR dialogue in the last five years in view of the eastern Ladakh border row.

The military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21.

Two days after the pact was firmed up, Modi and Xi held talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan. In the meeting, the two sides agreed to revive several dialogue mechanisms, including the Special Representatives dialogue on boundary question.

(With PTI inputs)