External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Friday, March 25, raised with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi the issue of the return of Indian students to China to resume their studies and hoped that Beijing will adopt a "non-discriminatory approach" towards it.
Jaishankar held extensive talks with Wang, who arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening on an unannounced visit. "I took up strongly the predicament of Indian students studying in China who have not been allowed to return, citing COVID restrictions. We hope that China will take a non-discriminatory approach since it involves the future of so many young people," Jaishankar said at a media briefing shortly after the talks, as per a report in PTI.
"Minister Wang Yi assured me that he would speak to the relevant authorities on his return on this matter. He also recognised the particular concerns that medical students have in this difficult situation," he said. A large number of Indian students had come back to India when China closed down all universities following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
China had restricted travel by suspending visa and residence permits from March 27, 2020, in view of the pandemic. According to the available information, approximately 20,000 Indian students were enrolled in various courses including clinical medicine courses in different Chinese universities at that time, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in Rajya Sabha on March 24.
The students are now struggling to return to the universities. India has been taking up the matter of the return of Indian students with the Chinese authorities both in New Delhi and through its Embassy in China.
