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.

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 on Monday to resume direct passenger flights between the two countries,

Recalling the agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan in October, the MEA said that the two sides “reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations comprehensively” and “agreed to take certain people-centric steps to stabilize and rebuild ties”.

India and China have agreed to resume direct air services between the two countries, New Delhi said in a statement on Monday after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing.

India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild" ties.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was in China for a two-day visit starting 26 January till 27 January for the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister dialogue mechanism.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing on January 26-27 to attend a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Foreign Minister mechanism between India and China on.