India, China to resume direct flights after five-year hiatus
India and China will restart direct flights between the two countries later this month, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced.
There have been no direct flights between the two countries since 2020, following deadly troop clashes on their shared Himalayan border, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
But over the past year or so, Delhi and Beijing have been working towards re-building ties, including taking steps to de-escalate tensions at the border.
On Thursday, India's biggest budget airline IndiGo said that it would restart direct flights between the cities of Kolkata and Guangzhou from 26 October.
In a statement released on Thursday, India's foreign ministry said that the resumption of flights would "further facilitate people-to-people contact" between the two countries and contribute towards "gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges".
India and China share an ill-defined border that is more than 3,440km (2,100 miles) long and have overlapping territorial claims.
In 2020, troops of the two countries clashed at the Galwan river valley, leaving at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead.
It was the first fatal confrontation between the two sides since 1975 and led to a freezing of ties.
But over the past year or so, Beijing and Delhi have been taking steps to gradually re-rebuild the frayed relationship.
High-ranking officials from the two sides have held several rounds of talks and meetings.
In a statement released on Thursday, India's foreign ministry said that the resumption of flights would "further facilitate people-to-people contact" between the two countries and contribute towards "gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges".
India and China share an ill-defined border that is more than 3,440km (2,100 miles) long and have overlapping territorial claims.
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