NEWS DELHI: Indian and Chinese troops have begun disengaging from the Gogra-Hotsprings border area in the western Himalayas, the Indian government said in a statement on Thursday, two years after clashes at the frontier strained diplomatic ties.

The statement comes ahead of a meeting in Uzbekistan next week which Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to attend.

India said disengagement was taking place in a coordinated and planned way and is meant to keep border peace.

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