India and China have agreed to resume direct air services after nearly five years, India's foreign ministry said on Monday, signalling a thaw in relations between the neighbours after a deadly 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

In a move to strengthen bilateral relations, India and China have agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra soon. The popular Hindu pilgrimage is expected to resume in the summer of 2025. The decision to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra came up in the backdrop of the Foreign Secretary,

The relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date,” Indian foreign ministry says.

The move to resume air services came nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions halted them.

India and China agreed in principle on Monday to resume direct flights between the two nations, nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions caused a suspension.

China and India have agreed to resume direct flights, facilitate visas and restart sharing data of trans-border rivers as the nuclear-armed neighbors try to rebuild diplomatic ties that remained frosty for more than four years.

The ministry of external affairs said this on Monday following foreign secretary Vikram Misri's talks with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong in Beijing

Mainland China and India have not been connected by direct passenger flights for almost five years. But relations between Beijing and New Delhi have started to thaw after several high-level meetings.

India and China agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct flights, aiming to normalize ties post-border standoff.