Traditional welcome for PM Modi, Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram

Hundreds of people beating drums and blowing trumpets lined up at the east coast road near Vadanemmeli located on the outskirts of Mamallapuram to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

People were dancing to traditional music, waving Indian and Chinese flags, and carrying placards with faces of Modi and Xi to heartily welcome the two leaders.

Security has also been heightened across Chennai and Mamallapuram. Normal traffic had earlier been diverted at many places in Chennai in a bid to ensure safety.

PM Modi and Xi are meeting at the coastal town located about 56 kilometres south of Chennai to kick-start the two-day informal summit.

Earlier in the day, a red carpet was rolled out to welcome Xi at the Chennai International Airport, while children in large numbers were seen holding cute panda soft toys. The airport was also decked with flowers, banana leaves and flags of both India and China in honour of the Chinese President.

The informal summit will provide an opportunity to the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening India-China Closer Development Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

In the summit, the focus of the talks is likely to be on steps to ensure mutual development and expanding overall ties between the two countries.