External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will be travelling to China from August 11-13 ahead of the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in India in October this year.
During this visit, Jaishankar will co-chair the second meeting of the India-China High-Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges (HLM) on August 12 in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the ministry of External Affairs statement said.
This will be External Affairs Minister’s first visit to China after assuming office.
“The decision to establish the HLM was taken during the Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April 2018. The inaugural HLM meeting was held on December 21, 2018 in New Delhi,” the statement said.
“The 2nd HLM meeting will provide an opportunity to follow up on the outcomes of the 1st HLM meeting and discuss new initiatives for enhancing people-to-people exchanges between our two countries,” it said.
The HLM reflects the desire on both sides to build greater synergies in the people-to-people ties between the two countries through enhanced exchanges in areas such as tourism, art, films, media, culture, sports, it added.
“S Jaishankar will also exchange views with the Foreign Minister of China on the entire gamut of our bilateral relations- including upcoming high-level visits later this year, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest,” it said.
