Senior officials of China and Bhutan have discussed a roadmap to expedite their boundary talks and agreed to continue to maintain peace and tranquillity along their border pending final settlement of their dispute, the foreign ministries of the two countries said on Friday.
The two countries do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials.
China, which is yet to finalise border agreements with India and Bhutan, has resolved the boundary line with 12 other neighbours.
Bhutan shares over 400-km-long border with China and the two countries have held 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
According to a joint statement issued by China and Bhutan on Friday, the 10th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Bhutan-China Boundary was held in the country’s southwest Kunming city from April 6-9. “The EGM discussed a roadmap to expedite the Bhutan-China Boundary Talks. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas pending a final settlement of the boundary issue,” the statement posted on the Bhutan Foreign Ministry website said.