New Delhi
16 May 2008
India and China will review their bilateral ties when Minister of
External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee travels to Beijing in June. The visit is being described
here as part of the ongoing bilateral exchanges between the two countries.
In July, Mr Pranab Mukherjee will be headed to Tehran for the India-Iran Joint
Commission meeting. He is likely to discuss the prospects of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's visit to Iran at an early but mutually convenient date.
The India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, the LNG (liquefied natural gas) deal and the
Iranian nuclear issue will figure in Mr Mukherjee's talks in Tehran, where he will likely
take part in a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial conference, too.
A source at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi told this newspaper Chinese Foreign
Minister Yang Jeichi can be expected to visit India in the second half of this year to
continue bilateral discussions.
Beijing looks forward to an early visit to China by the President of India, Mrs Pratibha
Devisingh Patil, possibly in 2009, the source added.
Mr Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart, Mr Yang Jeichi, met in the Russian city of
Yekaterinburg this week where they participated in the annual meting of foreign
ministers from Russia, India and China.
The Chinese minister, who held an hour-long meeting with Mr Mukherjee on the sidelines
of the trilateral meeting in Yekaterinburg, said the Sino-Indian relations are becoming
"increasingly close".
Mr Yang hoped Mr Mukherjee's visit to China next month will give a boost to further
development of ties in the spirit of "Shared vision of the 21st Century" signed by
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January this year.
The minister thanked India for ensuring the security and smooth relay of Olympic Torch.
Mr Mukherjee, in turn, said India merely fulfilled her international obligations by
ensuring the smooth passage of the Olympic Torch. India considered Tibet as integral
part of China, he added.
According to another source tracking India's engagement of China, nothing substantial
can be expected from Mr Mukherjee's talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing; it will
at best serve both sides to "remain engaged".
The source said the boundary question has been put on the back burner because "China
is not in a position to repeat old offer and India is not in a position to make any new
offer." Also because China keeps changing its position on the boundary dispute.
According to the source, the trilateral meeting in Yekaterinburg signals the desire of
India and China to coordinate their stand on the Group of Eight (G-8). India and China are
two of five "outreach" countries invited to the G-8 Summits.
In a joint statement issued after the trilateral meeting, Russia and China welcomed
"India's aspirations for playing an enhanced role as an Observer State within the SCO
(Shanghai Cooperation Cooperation) framework."
In the joint statement the three ministers reaffirmed their countries' common desire to
expand multifaceted cooperation with the Central Asian countries and to identify various
forms of trilateral interaction.
The ministers from Russia and China reiterated that their countries attach importance to
the status of India in international affairs, and understand and support India's
aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations.
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