Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Chinese president Xi Jinping and highlighted India's concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a briefing.

“The prime minister underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas, and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship”, Kwatra added.

“In this regard, two leaders agreed to direct relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”, the foreign secretary added.

Both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were seen engaging in a brief interaction at the 15th Brics summit in Johannesburg.

India and China have been in a stand-off situation for the last three years and relations at all levels have deteriorated due to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides have held 19 rounds of talks so far to address the boundary issues in eastern Ladakh since 2020.

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are six nations who will be the joining the Brics from January 2024.