Indo-China talks next Saturday

Share:

April 14, 2007 14:34 IST

India and China will hold another round of high-level talks on the boundary question in Delhi from next Saturday as part of efforts to settle the dispute that has been nagging their relations for decades.

Special representatives of the two countries -- National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo -- will hold two-day talks in Delhi and Ooty in Tamil Nadu, officials said on Saturday.

The nine rounds of talks have made progress and the two sides are now discussing issues related to demarcation of the border, officials said.

The tenth round of negotiations takes place three months after the last meeting of the special representatives in Delhi, indicating speeding up of efforts to resolve the boundary dispute.

The leadership of both the countries has been keen to settle the issue as early as possible. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, during their meeting in Philippines in January on the sidelines of India-ASEAN Summit, had said that the discussions should take place with "greater vigour and greater innovativeness."

Earlier, during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao in Delhi in November 2006, the two sides had decided to pursue efforts to resolve the boundary dispute as a "strategic objective" as it would advance the basic interests of the two countries.

"The special representatives shall complete at an early date the task of finalising an appropriate framework for a final package settlement of the India-China boundary," the joint declaration had said after Hu's talks with Dr Singh.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Share: