As part of 2-nation trip, PM Modi expected to visit China later this month
New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI): After a gap of over seven years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to China later this month to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
According to the plan, Prime Minister Modi will embark on a visit to Japan around August 29 and after concluding the trip, he will travel to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit to be held on August 31-September 1.
Modi's visit to China is being planned amid efforts by the two sides to repair their bilateral ties which came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
There is no official confirmation yet on Modi's two-nation visit to Japan and China. The visit is likely to take place from August 29 to September 1.
Modi last visited China in June, 2018 to attend the SCO summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second "informal summit".
However, the relationship came under stress due to the eastern Ladakh border face-off.
The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties.
The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.
In the last few months, both sides revived the Special Representative dialogue on boundary question and other dialogue mechanisms.
The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan (Russia) on October 23, 2024.
The Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok.
The two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited China in the last two months to attend SCO meetings.
China is the current chair of the SCO.
It is not immediately clear whether PM Modi and President Xi will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
It is expected that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among the top leaders who will participate in the SCO summit.
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Gujarat voted for development & good governance, says Pradhan as BJP sweeps local body polls
New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said the people of Gujarat have reaffirmed their faith in the politics of development, stability and good governance as the BJP swept the local body elections by winning all 15 municipal corporations and 33 out of 34 district panchayats in the state.
Thanking the voters, Pradhan said the result is a testament to the people's unwavering trust in the BJP, the relentless hard work of the party workers and the strength of the organisation under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
“The people of Gujarat have once again made it clear that their trust remains firmly aligned with the politics of development, stability and good governance. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Gujarat for the support received by the BJP in the local body elections,” Pradhan posted on X.
“Under the guidance of the Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, this result is a remarkable testament to the people's unwavering trust, the relentless hard work of the Gujarat BJP workers, and the strength of the organisation,” he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Gujarat for what he termed a "sweeping mandate" in the local body polls, saying the bond between the state and the BJP has grown even stronger.
Modi said people have voted for the politics of good governance, and assured that the party would work harder to take Gujarat to new heights of progress.
Though final results for 250 taluka panchayats and 84 municipalities were awaited, data from the State Election Commission (SEC) showed that the ruling BJP won most of these local bodies while some were bagged by the Congress, AAP and Independents.
Polling was held on Sunday for 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats.
The BJP emerged a clear winner in the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Rajkot, besides the newly created municipal corporations of Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
