India and China on Thursday held their 11th round of talks on border affairs

New Delhi: India and China on Thursday held their 11th round of talks on border affairs during the course of which they explored various confidence building measures.

Stating that the discussions were held in "a friendly and cordial atmosphere", the external affairs ministry said in a statement that both sides exchanged views on ways to improve border management.

"We underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas is an important prerequisite for further development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Various confidence building measures aimed at further enhancing the level of mutual trust and understanding between border personnel were discussed," it said.

"Both sides also agreed to explore the possibility of strengthening cooperation through exchange of visits and institutionalised dialogue mechanisms in order to promote better understanding and cooperation between the two defence forces," it added.

The 11th round of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) for India-China border affairs was led by Pranay Verma, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the External Affairs Ministry, from the Indian side and Yi Xianliang, Director General, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs from the Chinese side.

The last round of the WMCC was held in Beijing in November 2017.

The WMCC was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquility along the India-China border areas, as well as to exchange views on strengthening communication and cooperation, including between their border security personnel.