New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that it was not an opportune moment to discuss the resumption of issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals in view of the COVID-19 situation there. The assertion came in response to queries about global airlines body IATA telling its member carriers on April 20 that India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals.
Asked about the issue at a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “I don’t think it is an opportune moment really to discuss the resumption of issuance of tourist visas from China in the context of what is happening in Shanghai and the pandemic situation there.”
China had itself suspended the issuance of most types of visas to Indians since November 2020, Bagchi said. Asked about Indian students who have not been able to go back for studies in China, Bagchi said that during the last visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had himself mentioned that the issue had been taken up.
India has been raising with China the plight of approximately 22,000 Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities who are unable to go back for physical classes. China has to date refused to let them enter. These students had to leave their studies in China and come to India when the COVID-19 pandemic began at the beginning of 2020.
