India, China decide to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, direct flights

India and China on Monday decided to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 and agreed in principle to restore direct flights as the two sides announced several measures to "rebuild" bilateral ties over two-and-a-half months after their militaries completed disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh. The decisions were announced after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held wide-ranging talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing. The two sides also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China expert level mechanism to discuss resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).The resumption of the yatra is seen as a big step in this direction. The yatra-- which involves a visit to mount Kailash and Mansarovar lake in Tibet -- has been suspended since the Covid outbreak of 2020. 
The relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements. They also agreed to hold an early meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism to discuss the resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation pertaining to trans-border rivers. The two sides agreed to take appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including media and think-tank interactions. They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries. The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date.
The two sides recognize that 2025, being the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, should be utilized to redouble public diplomacy efforts to create better awareness about each other and restore mutual trust and confidence among the public. The two sides will conduct a number of commemorative activities to mark this anniversary. Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability.
During his visit, Foreign Secretary called on Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the  Director of the Office of Central Commission of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao.