JOIN USIndia eyes more biz with China
Foreign ministers of the three countries – India’s S M Krishna, China’s Yang Jie Chi and Russia Sergei Lavrov – will also discuss regional and international issues and will explore ways to strengthen trilateral cooperation. For Bangalore, this will be an unprecedented moment: it will be host to a major multilateral conference after a gap of over two decades since the SAARC summit in 1986.
Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issues involved, the police have taken adequate security measures to thwart any attempts to create disturbance during the conference.
The security establishment is not taking any chances because they do not want a repeat of the embarrassing 2005 episode when a Tibetan youth breached the Indian Institute of Science security to hoist a free Tibet flag atop a building when the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao was visiting.
Briefing reporters, Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary and spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said China had become India’s largest trading partner with two-way trade touching $51.8 billion last year.
The two Asian giants, who have already signed a bilateral investment protection agreement, are keen to tap the full potential of trade and economic cooperation to help reach the targeted $60 billion trade figure by 2010.
While trade and commerce are high on the agenda, mutual cooperation between the three countries in infrastructure, energy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and nano-technology will also figure in the deliberations.
Easing tension
Observers feel the one-to-one talks between Krishna and Yang scheduled later in the day may go a long way in easing tensions and removing misunderstandings between the two neighbours.
From the strategic perspective, India perceives the meeting to further strengthen its time-tested relation with Russia.