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Manmohan, Wen stress on harmony, trust Days after their two nations exchanged barbs over contentious issues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today resolved not to allow bilateral differences act as impediments to the growth of functional cooperation between the two Asian giants.
The two leaders, who met at the Dusit Thani Hotel here on the margins of the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit, observed that a robust relationship between their two countries was in the overall interest of the region and the whole world. With their respective positions on Arunachal Pradesh and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s proposed visit to Arunachal Pradesh in November well known, the two leaders avoided any discussion directly on both these controversial subjects. Both Beijing and the Chinese media have taken an unusually aggressive stand on the Arunachal issue in recent days, leading to an equally sharp reaction from India. Manmohan Singh underscored the importance for both sides to build better understanding and trust at the political level so that their relations remained robust and strong. He stressed that neither side should let their differences act as impediments to the growth of function bilateral cooperation. Concurring with Manmohan Singh’s views, Wen pointed out that for the Asian century to become a reality, it was important that India and China live in harmony and friendship and enjoy prosperity. He also recalled Manmohan singh’s remark about both sides having enough space to develop and cooperate and added that there were sufficient areas in the world for the two countries to enhance such cooperation. The much-awaited meeting, which has obviously lowered tensions between the two nations, was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. Wen and Manmohan Singh warmly shook hands at the start of their meeting with the Chinese Premier describing his Indian counterpart as an old friend. He also recalled the meetings between them in the past which had helped develop and strengthen bilateral relations. “We have reached important consensus on promoting bilateral ties, and I believe that our two countries maintain a good relationship in the future, which conforms with the interests of the two countries,’’ Wen said while welcoming Manmohan Singh. New Delhi is quite hopeful that the meeting would help put the normalisation process between the two countries back on the track. On October 27, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Bangalore on the margins of the Russia-India-China Foreign Minister’s meeting, which again will reflect the two countries’ intention to normalise ties. A senior official aptly summed up the relationship by remarking: ‘’we have our differences like any other two sovereign nations but why should we allow these differences to cloud our relationship.’’ He noted that the meeting between the two Prime Ministers had attracted considerable global attention, against the backdrop of recent tensions in ties. The whole world was getting jittery since a confrontation between India and China could lead to the collapse of the global economy, he added. Briefing reporters on the nearly 45-minute meeting, N Ravi, Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, said Manmohan Singh told his Chinese opposite number that India was prepared to cooperate with Beijing on global issues like climate change, world trade and global financial crisis. He also described India-China as economic and trade relations as a vital pillar of bilateral partnership.
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PM for early finalisation of freight corridor project Hua Hin (Thailand), October 24 This came at a meeting he had with his Japanese counterpart Yudio Hatoyama on the margins of the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. The Japanese leader said his country desired better economic and defence ties with India. Hatoyama said he attached importance to the realisation of all these projects "as symbols of cooperation between Japan and India". The two prime ministers agreed to work together "in a positive and constructive way" on the issue of climate change, officials
said.
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PM for free-trade pact with ASEAN Seeking to deepen India’s economic ties with ASEAN, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for an early conclusion of negotiations between the two sides on a free-trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments. The conclusion of FTA in goods between India and ASEAN in August this year was the first major step towards the objectives of creating an India-ASEAN regional trade and investment area, he said addressing the 7th India-ASEAN Summit here. With trade between the two sides growing at an impressive rate, the PM was confident that it would reach the $50-billion target by 2010 despite the global economic slowdown. In keeping with the summit’s theme of “Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples”, Manmohan Singh proposed the establishment of an India-ASEAN round table to provide policy inputs to the governments on future areas of cooperation. The round table should comprise think tanks, policy makers, scholars, journalists and business representatives to bridge the knowledge gap. He sought intensified negotiations on an open skies policy and further simplification of the visa regime to encourage business and tourist travel between India and ASEAN countries. He also proposed greater exchange of youths and MPs. Manmohan Singh said India was ready to share satellite data with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage natural disasters and to launch small satellites, scientific instruments and payloads for experiments in remote sensing. To support India-ASEAN initiatives, he said India was ready to allocate $50 million during the period of the ASEAN work plan under the ASEAN-India cooperation fund and the ASEAN development fund. Meanwhile, ASEAN said it favoured early establishment of an ASEAN-India business council to strengthen business networks and opportunities. A statement issued at the end of the 15th ASEAN Summit said the regional grouping welcomed the signing of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement in August this year. “The agreement is expected to create a free-trade area comprising about 1.7 billion people with a combined GDP of approximately $2.75 trillion as of 2008,” it said.
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