India and China have agreed to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct air services

India and China have agreed to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct air services between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Monday after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.

Both countries also agreed to hold a meeting on expert-level mechanism to discuss provision of hydrological data pertaining to trans-border rivers.

The MEA said the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025

The relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for doing so as per existing agreements,” the MEA said.

Every year, the yatra took place between June and September through the two official routes of Lipulekh Pass (since 1981) in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass (since 2015) in Sikkim. The yatra has not taken place since 2020 following the Covid outbreak and the subsequent non-renewal of yatra arrangements by the Chinese side 

Meanwhile, India and China 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. This comes amid India’s apprehensions over China’s dam project in the upstream belt of the Brahmaputra river.

Both sides have also agreed to resume direct air services between the two countries. The direct flights between India and China were suspended in 2020 in the wake of the Covid pandemic and have not resumed.

Earlier in the day, Wang Yi told Misri, “China and India should work in the same direction, explore more substantive measures and commit to mutual understanding."

China and India should commit to “mutual support and mutual achievement” rather than “suspicion” and “alienation”, Wang said during the meeting, according to the Chinese foreign ministry's readout