India and China have agreed to resume direct air services after nearly five years, India's foreign ministry said on Monday, signalling a thaw in relations between the neighbours after a deadly 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

The announcement heralds the latest signs of a thaw in the frosty ties between the world’s two most populous nations. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The in-principle agreement to resume flight services between the two countries, which are suspended since 2020 after the Covid pandemic, was taken during the two-day visit (January 26-27) of foreign secretary Vikram Misri to Beijing,

India and China have agreed to resume direct air services between the two countries, New Delhi said in a statement on Monday after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing.

India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild" ties.

Recalling the agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the MEA said that the two sides “reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively” and “agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties”.

The ministry of external affairs said this on Monday following foreign secretary Vikram Misri's talks with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong in Beijing

India and China, in yet another to mend the ties since the Doklam standoff, both countries have decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and restore direct flights. The decision to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct flights came during a meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Monday,

India and China also agreed to promote and facilitate people-to-people contacts, especially between media and think tanks.