India and China to boost economic ties: Vajpayee

Monday, 13 October 2003, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned home Sunday after a visit to Indonesia and Thailand and announced that India and China would set up a joint group to boost economic ties. In a statement to journalists here at the end of his weeklong tour, Vajpayee said the two countries would also discuss their long-standing border dispute this month. Referring to his meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Indonesia Wednesday, he said: "My meeting with Wen touched on the substantial forward movement in our bilateral relations since our last meeting. "To continue this process, we have agreed to expedite the establishment of the joint study group on economic cooperation." External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha explained that the group would comprise bureaucrats, economists and other experts. On the border dispute, Vajpayee said: "The special representatives of the two governments will have their first meeting on the border question in the near future." National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra will lead the Indian side during the talks in New Delhi on October 24. India and China decided in June to appoint two special representatives to give a political push to resolving the border row that had triggered a war in 1962. "Premier Wen agreed to make a return visit to India as early as possible," added the prime minister, who made a groundbreaking visit to China in June. In Bali, Chinese officials made it known before Vajpayee and Wen met that Beijing had decided finally to strike off Sikkim as an independent country from its foreign ministry website. Vajpayee, accompanied by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, went to Bali to attend the ASEAN summit and the India-ASEAN summit. He then went to Thailand for four days, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit the country in a decade. In his statement here, Vajpayee said ASEAN leaders who met him had pointed out that India and the influential regional grouping "had made remarkable progress" in improving bilateral relations in all spheres. He outlined the discussions he had with ASEAN leaders in Bali and said he had invited President Roh Moo-Hyun of South Korea to visit India. South Korea, Japan and China besides India weree invited to the ASEAN summit in their capacity as summit partners. "Both the India-ASEAN summit and my bilateral visit to Thailand illustrated the depth and versatility which our relations with ASEAN and its countries have acquired," the statement said. "The development of closer political and economic linkages between India and ASEAN is in consonance with our efforts for a multi-polar world order and for expanding our economic opportunities. "The response of ASEAN to our initiatives has been unequivocally positive in all aspects." Earlier Sunday, Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ceremoniously saw off Vajpayee at Chiang Mai, his country's second largest city located some 800 km north of Bangkok. Vajpayee had flown to Chiang Mai, Thaksin's hometown, on Saturday to attend a private dinner hosted by the Thai premier.
Source: IANS