External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jia Chi in Bengaluru.
The meeting, held against the backdrop of the war of words between the two countries over Arunachal Pradesh and the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang, discussed all the aspects of bilateral relations, Krishna informed a press conference.
Stating that he was satisfied with the talks, Krishna said both countries perceive this as a path to further progress towards building trust on a political level. "We agreed to further enhance trade and economic cooperation," he said.
The leaders also welcomed the positive outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit held in Thailand last week.
The two ministers have decided to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Indo-China diplomatic ties in 2010. Krishna informed journalists that he has accepted the invitation of his Chinese counterpart to visit China next year, adding that the dates were yet to be worked out.
However, Krishna refused to answer any questions about the details of the meeting. He also refused to talk about the advisory issued by the Home Ministry on Tuesday, warning Indian citizens against traveling to Pakistan.
Earlier, China joined Russia in recognising the importance of India's status in international affairs and noting its support for New Delhi's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations.
The Chinese view was reflected in a joint communique issued after a meeting between Krishna, Jie Chi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
It said the ministers noted that "their countries attach importance to the status of India in international affairs and understand and support India's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations".
The statement, however, falls short of an outright support for India's bid for permanent membership of the expanded UN Security Council.
Russia has been vociferously supporting India's entry into UN Security Council as a permanent member, saying it meets all the requirements. But China has refrained from extending its backing.
The foreign ministers also pressed for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, with a view to making it more effective, so that it can deal with the current global challenges in a better way. The meeting took place under the format of the Russia-India-China grouping.
Image: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his counterparts Yang Jia Chi (China) and Sergey Lavrou (Russia) | Photograph: Reuters
