"Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will happen this year, we are making preparations": MEA

New Delhi [India], April 17 (ANI): India and China are set to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a sacred pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, after a pause since 2020.
In a weekly media briefing on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, confirmed that preparations are underway and a public notice will be issued soon.
"The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will happen this year, and we are making preparations. We will soon issue a public notice regarding the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. There is a possibility of resumption of the Yatra soon," added Jaiswal, offering hope to thousands of devotees awaiting the reopening of the sacred pilgrimage route.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has remained suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both countries have also agreed in principle to resume direct air services, with technical teams discussing the modalities, including an updated framework.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that during Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit to Beijing in January 2025, both nations discussed resuming direct flights.
Jaiswal said, "In principle, both countries have agreed that flight operations will resume. The technical teams on both sides are looking into the technical arrangements for the flight services to resume. When the foreign secretary had visited Beijing, both sides had agreed to resume direct air services. It was also agreed that relevant technical authorities would meet and negotiate. An updated framework is necessary to initiate direct flight services. The two civil aviation authorities have met and are discussing the relevant modalities, including the updated framework..."
He added, "I don't have a timeline at this point in time, but technical level discussions are happening, which means that things are moving in the right direction."
On the visa issue between India and China, the spokesperson said, "We are having talks with China regarding visas, and it is happening at multiple levels. During the talks, we discussed several issues, including people-to-people ties, connectivity, direct air services, and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. So it's evident that when we talk about these issues, in the matter of visa, there will be some kind of consensus between the two countries..."
The yatra holds significant cultural and spiritual importance for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, and its resumption is expected to boost tourism and people-to-people exchanges between India and China.
The decision comes ahead of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and China, which will be utilised to enhance public diplomacy efforts and create better awareness about each other.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 hosted by CNN News18, where he said that India's relationship with China is "much better than before" and mentioned that both countries are actively discussing key collateral matters including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, resumption of direct flights, and pandemic-era disruptions. "The relationship is much better than before. I think the disengagement, particularly the Depsang Demchok, was important," he said.
Jaishankar emphasised that many of the unresolved issues between India and China stemmed from a build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the broader complications introduced during the COVID-19 era.
"We are now addressing, to some extent, the issues on the border because there has been a force build-up over a period of years. There were many other things that also happened during this period. Some of it was collateral for the situation. Some of it was a carryover from the COVID era," he said.
He further pointed out that strained relations from 2020 to 2024 had hurt both nations, with disruptions such as suspended direct flights and the halting of the Mansarovar Yatra still lingering. "We are trying to see whether... we can progress on this. We are looking at it because... the situation that we saw between 2020-2024 was not in the interest of either country," he said.
In October 2024, India and China had reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and Demchok following several rounds of talks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping also met in Kazan last year during the 16th BRICS Summit, where they welcomed the disengagement agreement. (ANI)