India, China plan regular talks
In a substantive step, India and China have decided to expand their consultations and therefore have agreed to launch a regular dialogue on issues concerning West Asia, Central Asia as well as Africa. What format it will have or at what level it will be held is yet to be decided.
In yet another significant move towards enhancing its bilateral ties with other countries, India and Moscow have agreed to explore the possibility of having a Comprehensive Econo-mic Cooperation Agree-ment. The CECA will be between India and the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. These two important developments came about during the bilateral meetings that PM Manmohan Singh had with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medv-edev, both of whom were in town to participate in the fourth Brics Summit held here on Thursday.
The spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, Syed Akbaruddin said that the decision on expanding the consultations between India and China were taken during the hour-long meeting between the Indian PM and the Chinese President at the former’s 7, Race Course Road residence here this evening.
The two leaders also expressed satisfaction with the special representative (SR) mechanism in which SRs from both countries meet at regular intervals to discuss boundary issues and which has helped maintain pace and tranquillity along the India-China borders. The two leaders also declared 2012 the year of India-China friendship with the lighting of lamps, said Mr Akbaruddin. As part of this friendship year, the two countries expect to give a fillip to people-to-people contacts, among other things,
The declaration of the friendship year came even as Chinese officials here for the Brics Summit blamed the Dalai Lama for a Tibetan burning himself to death this week. “The Dalai Lama and so-called pro-independence elements are trying to push extreme and radical views and are glorifying extreme positions,” said Luo Zhaohui, director-general of China’s department of Asian affairs. He added, “The Chinese appreciate the concrete and effective measures implemented by the Indian government in overcoming the disruption” while regretting the Tibetan young man’s death.
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