Gen MM Naravane (Retd)
The 16th annual BRICS summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from 22 to 24 October 2024. This was the first BRICS summit to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members following their accession to the organisation at the previous summit.
In the run-up to the event, there was much speculation about whether there would be a one-on-one meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Summit. On 21 October, there were a flurry of statements by the Ministry of External Affairs regarding an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control. The timing of the announcement did indeed suggest that it was to create a conducive atmosphere for a Xi-Modi meeting. After formal confirmation from both sides, the meeting was held on 23 October, the first such meeting in five years and more importantly, the first meeting post the 2020 crisis in Eastern Ladakh.
The stage was set when Vikram Misri, the Foreign Secretary, made the announcement regarding the restoration of patrolling rights in the Depsang Plains and the Demchok area. These two areas have been a bone of contention ever since the failed attempt by the Chinese to unilaterally change the status quo in the first half of 2020. That the two sticking points now seem to have been mutually settled is a welcome development and is indicative of our resolve.
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