Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday met his counterpart from China, Admiral Don Jun, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China.
Both the defence ministers held discussions on issues pertaining to bilateral relations, Rajnath Singh wrote on X.
“Held talks with Admiral Don Jun, the Defence Minister of China, on the sidelines of SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao," Rajnath Singh wrote on X, sharing a picture of them together.
“We had a constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on issues pertaining to bilateral relations," he added.
“Expressed my happiness on restarting of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of nearly six years. It is incumbent on both the sides to maintain this positive momentum and avoid adding new complexities in the bilateral relationship," the Defence Minister mentioned.
Rajnath Singh also presented a Madhubani painting from Bihar to his counterpart from China.
According to news agency ANI, the painting has its origins in the Mithila region of Bihar, and is also popularly known as Mithila or Madhubani art.
It is characterised by line drawings filled in with bright colours and contrasts or patterns.
Singh arrived in Qingdao on Wednesday evening to attend the SCO conclave.
Besides India and China, the SCO comprises Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
At the conference, Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to sign a joint communique of the SCO following the omission of the Pahalgam terror attack and not explicitly addressing India’s concerns over Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism.
At a conference of the SCO defence ministers’ conclave, Singh demanded inclusion of the dastardly terror attack in the communique, while the Pakistani side pressed for having a paragraph on militant activities in Balochistan in an apparent attempt to blame New Delhi.
Earlier, in his address at the conclave, Singh took a swipe at Pakistan for backing terrorist groups, as he called for holding accountable the “perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors" of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.
