By IRNA,
New Delhi : India’s External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee embarks on a four-day visit to China Wednesday during which he will discuss the entire range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the decades-old boundary row and the intensification of economic ties.
Mukherjee will hold talks with his counterpart Yang Jiechi and also call on Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing.
Mukherjee, who is making the first trip after becoming the External Affairs Minister in the first high-level contact since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to China in January giving a greater thrust to development in bilateral relations.
According to media reports received here, ahead of his visit to China, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state that tension between the two countries had “reduced considerably from 1995 onwards” even though their border dispute remains unresolved.
“We are trying to resolve issues with China”, the minister said, adding: “We have pointed out that Prunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. We are regularly launching protests with China on the incursions (along our borders).
“There are some incursions. We have asked the security forces to be alert and maintain vigil over the border to stop the incursions,” he added.