Prime Minister Narendra Modi was spotted having a brief exchange of words with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders' press conference on Thursday.
Before the conference started in earnest, PM Modi and Xi were pictured having a brief conversation before taking their designated seats.
Notably, in November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chanced upon Xi at the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, Indonesia. Both the leaders exchanged pleasantries at the G20 dinner.
Notably, this was the first handshake since the standoff between China's Peoples Liberation Army and the Indian forces in eastern Ladakh in April 2020.
India and China have been in a stand-off situation for the last three years and relations at all levels have deteriorated due to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The two sides have held 19 rounds of talks so far to address the boundary issues in eastern Ladakh since 2020, post the Chinese aggression there. PM Modi arrived in South Africa for the 15th BRICS Summit on Tuesday. The opening day of the summit in Johannesburg was witness to the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue. -- ANI