Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar made a visit to China last week in an effort to seek the country’s support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the development on Sunday. According to MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup, Jaishankar met the Chinese foreign secretary for 'bilateral consultations', and "all major issues, including India's NSG membership" were discussed. The meeting comes ahead of the NSG plenary in Seoul on Friday, when member countries will discuss India and Pakistan's applications.

The NSG is an international group comprising 48 countries that work together to monitor and control the export of materials or technology that can be used to create nuclear weapons. India has applied for membership to the group in May.

The move had drawn opposition from Pakistan and China, which is leading a group of countries that is against India’s membership. These include New Zealand, Austria, South Africa, Ireland and Turkey. However, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland and Mexico are among countries who have supported India’s bid.