Qingdao: Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to India next year for an informal summit, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced here on Saturday.

Briefing journalists after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in this Chinese city, Mr. Gokhale said that one of the important outcomes of the meeting was that the Chinese side conveyed that they have accepted the Prime MinisterÂs invitation to President Xi Jinping to have a similar informal summit in India in 2019.

The two leaders had an informal summit in Wuhan in the last week of April when Mr. Modi travelled to China.

The Foreign Secretary said SaturdayÂs meeting between the two leaders was “a substantive meeting”. He said that President Xi Jinping began by making positive assessment of Wuhan summit. The Chinese leader described it as ‘a new starting point’ in  bilateral relations between the two countries. Mr. Modi described it as ‘milestone in our relations’, Foreign Secretary said about the bilateral meeting.  

“Met this year’s SCO host, President Xi Jinping this evening,” PM Modi tweeted. “We had detailed discussions on bilateral and global issues. Our 

talks will add further vigor to the India-China friendship,ÂÂ he said.

The Foreign Secretary said that new people to people mechanism will be set up. On Indian side, it will be headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and on the Chinese side, it’ll be headed by state council and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The first meeting of this mechanism will be held this year: Mr. Gokhale said,

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit here, India and China signed two crucial Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) including sharing of hydrological information of Brahmaputra river. The MoUs were signed after a delegation level meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi. 

In a tweet Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, ÂFollowing PM @narendramodi meeting with Chinese President Xi, two MoUs were signed – Sharing hydrological information of Brahmaputra river by China to India& amendment of Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice.Â

Both the leaders agreed on to deepen the bilateral ties in scores of field. 

ÂFurther strengthening the positive momentum in the bilateral relationship generated at the #Wuhan Informal Summit, PM @narendramodi had a warm and forward looking meeting with Chinese President #XiJinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, Mr Kumar said in another tweet.

India is attending for the first time the SCO summit after formally becoming its full time member last year. Pakistan also became the full time member in 2017.

During his visit, Mr. Modi also held meetings with heads of several participating member nations.

ÂBecoming part of the SCO family! PM @narendramodi interacting with leaders of other #SCO member countries in the Leaders’ Lounge at the banquet hosted by Chinese President #XiJinping in Qingdao, Mr Kumar added. Mr. Modi held a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Apart from India,China and Russia, other SCO member nations include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan.