Nirmala Sitharaman And Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe Holds Bilateral Meeting To Strengthen Defence Ties

New Delhi, August 23: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe held a bilateral meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. Both the leaders stressed on strengthening defence cooperation and strategic ties. The two Asian countries were involved in a tense military standoff in Bhutan’s Doklam region last year. At the meeting both the two countries decided to expand the engagement between their armed forces relating to training, joint exercises and other professional interactions.

After the meeting defence ministry in a tweet stated, “Delegation led by Smt @nsitharaman in a bilateral meeting with the Chinese delegation led by General Wei Fenghe, Hon’ble Defence Minister of China. The meeting emphasised on strengthening Indo-China defence cooperation and strategic ties.” Earlier in the day, General Fenghe was given the guard of honour at the south block in the national capital.

On August 21, the Chinese Defence Minister met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi appreciated the increased momentum of high-level contacts between India and China in all spheres, including in the areas of defence and military exchanges. PM Modi said that relations between the two countries were a factor of stability in the world.

General Fenghe arrived in India on August 21 on a four-day official visit, following the informal summit between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping this year at Wuhan. The summit was part of the efforts by both the countries to set the Doklam standoff aside and strengthen communication and build trust among the militaries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2018 09:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).