Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached the Chinese city of Qingdao to attend the meeting of Defence Ministers of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). During this, he held bilateral talks with China’s Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun, in which an agreement was reached to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. This journey is being resumed after about six years. Sharing information on the social media platform ‘X’, Rajnath Singh wrote, “Constructive and visionary discussions were held with China’s Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun during the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao. Happy to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after almost six years.”
Also met the Defence Ministers of Russia and Belarus
The Defence Minister also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Russia and Belarus. He held talks with Belarus’ Defence Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, which he described as “meaningful”. Earlier, he also met Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and discussed further strengthening defence cooperation. It is noteworthy that India and Russia have long-standing cooperation in the defense sector, which operates under the ‘IRIGC-M&MTC’ mechanism.