India, China decide to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in summer

The relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so according to existing agreements, the External Affairs Ministry stated.

There was also an in-principle agreement to resume direct flights between the two nations.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing on Monday for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism between India and China.

As discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the two sides reviewed the current state of India-China bilateral relations and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties.

The resumption of the yatra is seen as a big step in this direction.

The yatra, which involves a visit to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in Tibet, has been suspended since the Covid outbreak in 2020.

Post-Covid, there was no renewal of arrangements by the Chinese side amid disturbing relations between Beijing and New Delhi owing to the border standoff following the Galwan clash.