China is making special efforts to improve facilities for pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra which has completed 30 years, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said on Thursday.
Noting that India and China were commemorating this year as the Year of Friendship and Cooperation, Krishna said the Yatra was a ‘lasting symbol of this friendship and cooperation’.
"We are informed that in the 12th Plan of China, special focus is being made to improve facilities in the Tibetan side," he said in his address to the first batch of pilgrims, including BJP MP Tarun Vijay, who embarked on the pilgrimage.
He said the Centre has been working closely with Uttarakhand government and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam to improve facilities for the pilgrimage.
Krishna said he looked forward to receiving suggestions from the pilgrims for introducing improvements and changes in facilities along the route of the pilgrimage.
"I would like all of you to see yourself as cultural ambassadors of India to China and be an important contributor for deepening people-to-people contacts," the minister said.