In his first such visit since Operation Sindoor, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meet in Qingdao from June 25 to 27. Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif too will attend the meeting.
The visit comes as India and China take steps to restore ties, including the resumption of trade and travel links as well as dialogue mechanisms.
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In addition, the Indian pilgrims bound for Kailash-Mansarovar – the first batch to undertake the trip since the 2020 military stand-off and Galwan killings – are also expected to reach their destination at the same time as Mr. Singh’s visit to Qingdao. The steps are part of the “normalisation” process agreed to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Kazan in October 2024, after a tense four-year military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control.
Both leaders are expected to attend the BRICS summit in Brazil from July 6 to 7, while Mr. Modi has been invited to the SCO Heads of State Summit in Tianjin, China, later this year.
