India, China discuss return of stranded medical students

India and China have discussed the return of scores of stranded medical students in the country and also about the resumption of direct flights.

Indian Embassy has said that India and China have discussed the return of stranded Indian medical students pursuing MBBS from China. Both the country also discussed the resumption of direct flights between the countries which were disrupted due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue.

 “Chinese side attached importance to the Indian side's concerns regarding the return of Indian students and that he hoped to see early progress on this”, a press release from the Indian Embassy quoted Wang.

China began permitting foreign students to return 

Recently, the country has started permitting some foreign students to return to the country. As many as 90 Pakistani students have returned to China in June after two years and others are still waiting for Beijing's nod to enter the country. Also, stranded students from Russia and Sri Lanka are being gradually allowed to return, as reported by DNA India.

As per China's official data, more than 23,000 Indian students are studying in Chinese colleges, mostly medical courses. Nearly, 12,000 Indian students want to return to China and they have forwarded their details to the Chinese government for processing. However, in wake of the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, the country is still reluctant to allow them to return at once in a large number.

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• Medical students pursuing MBBS from China to protest on May 29