Amid the border dispute in Sikkim’s Doklam area, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping and security officials of Brazil, Russia and South Africa at the NSAs meeting in Beijing.

At the Brics meet on Friday, Doval appealed to the group to take a leadership role in regional issues and in combating terrorism, India Today reported.

On Thursday, Doval held bilateral talks with China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi after the first day of the NSA summit. China said Yang had discussed “major problems” in the bilateral relations between the two countries, Xinhua reported. However, it was not specified what those problems were.

President Xi is believed to have said that the Brics member states were faced with a “complex international political and economic security situation”. The Chinese leader pitched for better communications on financial cooperation and security issues between the five countries, Hindustan Times reported.

The Sikkim standoff

Bilateral ties have been strained since the Indian Army stopped China from constructing a road in Sikkim sector’s Doklam area. New Delhi has made it clear that it will not allow Beijing to construct a motorable road up to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction through the Doklam plateau.