By IANS,
New Delhi : As India and China ended their 12th round of border talks without any breakthrough, New Delhi Friday struck a positive note by saying it has put “the NSG issue behind us” and will focus on increasing trade and other ties between the two countries.
“The NSG issue is behind us,” Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters when asked about the fallout of China’s perceived negative role to block consensus in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for a waiver to India.
“China was part of the consensus,” Menon said, indicating that New Delhi, after conveying its displeasure to Beijing over the issue, was keen to strike a positive note ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to that country next month to attend a conclave of Asian and European leaders (ASEM).
Menon said India plans to focus on trade, greater people-to-people exchanges and increased cooperation on global issues like UN reforms and climate change. These issues will be discussed when Manmohan Singh meets Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
in Beijing, India and China Friday could not reach any specific agreement on their decades-long boundary dispute in the 12th round of negotiations but decided to pursue their goal for a “fair and reasonable” solution that is acceptable to both sides.
“Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan headed their delegations for the talks, which were pragmatic, candid and friendly,” a statement issued in Beijing by the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The boundary talks were held in the shadow of what Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has described as the “NSG misunderstanding,” while insisting that his country played a positive and constructive role in the nuclear cartel.
“They agreed that both countries would carry out the guidelines of their leaders, maintain negotiations and seek a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both sides,” China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
The statement did not reveal whether any progress had been made during the latest round of negotiations.