Modi-xi bond in majestic Mamallapuram

MAMALLAPURAM: In the majestic backdrop of 7th-century rock-cut chariots of Pancha Ratha overlooking the Bay of Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping sipped coconut water and engaged in casual interaction in a serene setting on Friday, sending signs of positive atmospherics in bilateral ties strained over Kashmir.

Modi, dressed in a Tamil attire of ‘Veshti’ (Dhoti), white shirt and an ‘angavastram’ (shawl), took Xi for a guided tour of the famous world heritage sites of Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butterball, the Pancha Ratha and Shore temple in this ancient temple town, kicking off the second informal summit between the two leaders.

“The free-flowing nature

of the informal summit at the UNESCO world heritage site will continue and deepen contacts at the highest level and guide the future trajectory of India-china relationship,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Xi’s visit to India comes two days after he held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing. After the talks, a joint statement said China is paying “close attention” to the situation in Kashmir and that the issue should be adequately

and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter. The comments evoked a sharp reaction from New Delhi.

From Pancha Ratha, the two leaders visited the beautifully lit-up Shore temple - a symbol of the cultural heritage of the Pallava dynasty. After spending some time together, Modi and Xi were joined by top delegates of both sides and all them witnessed a cultural programme presented by Kalakshetra society.

After the event, Modi hosted Xi for a private dinner at the Shore temple complex, which was beautifully decorated with lights and flowers. Delicately selected authentic Tamil cuisines including vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes were served in the dinner.

On Saturday morning, Modi and Xi will have a comprehensive one-on-one meeting to be followed by delegation-level talks.

Officials on both sides said the focus of the Modi-xi summit would be to insulate the bilateral trade and development cooperation from differences on Kashmir and vexed boundary issue.

They said ways to bolster counter-terror cooperation, trade and enhancing collaboration between militaries of the two countries along the 3,500 KM border would be the key focus of the talks.