New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to have their first bilateral meeting in five years on Wednesday, according to Indian officials. This meeting comes shortly after the two nations reached an agreement regarding their disputed border.

The meeting will occur during the three-day BRICS summit hosted by President Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia, indicating a possible thaw in relations following the clashes between their troops in 2020.

"There will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping... on the sidelines of the BRICS summit," stated Vikram Misri, a senior official in the Indian foreign ministry, on Tuesday.

The last formal face-to-face talks between the leaders of the two most populous nations occurred in October 2019, when Xi visited Modi in Mahabalipuram, India. Relations took a downturn following a skirmish along the contested border in the Himalayan region of Ladakh in 2020, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

China and India are fierce rivals, each accusing the other of attempting to seize territory along the Line of Actual Control, their unofficial border. Since the clashes, both countries have pulled back tens of thousands of troops and agreed not to patrol a narrow dividing strip.

On Monday, India announced that an "agreement has been reached on patrolling arrangements" with China, which may help ease the military standoff.

While PM Modi and Xi had brief encounters in Bali during the G20 summit in 2022 and in Johannesburg in 2023, India insists that relations cannot fully normalize until the pre-clash status quo in Ladakh is reinstated.

Over the past four years, New Delhi has made it more difficult for many Chinese firms to invest in key sectors and banned numerous Chinese apps, including TikTok. Additionally, India has strengthened ties with the Quad, a US-led alliance that includes Australia and Japan, aiming to counter China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing is now likely to urge New Delhi to restore economic ties and grant access to its companies in the rapidly growing Indian market.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from NDTV