By IANS
Harbin (China) : India and China have established a working group to enact a framework to settle their lingering boundary dispute, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced here Thursday.
Mukherjee said this after a 50-minute meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. “Let us wait for the recommendations of the Working Group,” Xinhua quoted him as telling reporters.
He also described as “successful” the 11th round of talks between the special representatives of India and China that was held in Beijing Sep 24-26.
Mukherjee was here for the third standalone trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of India, China and Russia Wednesday.
The positive note on resolving the boundary dispute coincides with the visit of India’s ruling coalition chief Sonia Gandhi to China Thursday.
The announcement has also fuelled hopes for substantial progress over the boundary dispute during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s upcoming visit to China.
Mukherjee stressed on the importance of enhanced cooperation between India and China which, he said, was not only conducive to regional peace and stability but also a must for global peace and prosperity.
India was ready to make joint efforts with China to deepen mutual understanding, mutually beneficial cooperation and continuously enhance the relationship between the two countries, Mukherjee said.
The two sides also vowed to further step up cooperation and continuously enhance their relationship, Xinhua reported.
China would make joint efforts with India under “relevant political guiding principles” and hoped the two countries could understand each other, make mutual concessions and adjustments so as to strive for an early border agreement “which would be fair, rational and acceptable” to both sides, said Yang.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and India has achieved new progress. Bilateral trade was expected to exceed $30 billion in 2007, Yang said.
He stressed that the strategic cooperation between the two countries was headed for a bright future.
China’s and India’s giant economic strides and improving bilateral relations had become one of the most outstanding aspects of the international order, Yang said.
Without the development and prosperity of the two countries and their close cooperation on international affairs, there would be “no harmonious Asia or a harmonious world”.
China was willing to join hands with India to develop bilateral ties with a strategic and long-term perspective and continuously enrich and step up strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, Yang added.