BackAhead of informal summit, Modi hopeful of stronger India-China ties
Modi and Xi will hold a series of meeting in a span of less than 24 hours on Friday and SaturdayThe meetings aim to broad base ties and remove irritants that have recently cropped up in ties
PremiumNew Delhi: Ahead of the start of the second informal summit between India and China at Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hoped his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will strengthen ties between the two countries.
“Landed in Chennai. I am very happy to be in this great land of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu is known for its great culture and hospitality. It is very gratifying that Tamil Nadu will host President Xi Jinping. I hope this informal meeting will further strengthen India-China relations," Modi said in a Twitter post in Chinese.
Modi and Xi will hold a series of meeting in a span of less than 24 hours on Friday and Saturday, aiming to broad base ties and remove irritants that have recently cropped up in ties.
Xi is scheduled to arrive in Chennai a little after 2.00 pm on Friday. Soon after, he will join Prime Minister Modi in Mamallapuram where the two leaders are expected to visit some of the landmarks at the World Heritage site that showcases links between Southern India’s Pallava kingdom and China’s Fujian province.
Xi was incidentally the governor of Fujian before he became president of China.
According to officials on both sides, the informal summit has no agenda and will not yield any formal bilateral agreements or pacts. People familiar with the developments on the Indian side said ways to ensure “peace and tranquility remains in the border areas and whether the current measures are adequate or whether we need supplementary measures", would be one of the issues on the table for discussions.
“Second, of course, it is in the interest of both sides to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement. So there may be some discussion in that regard," a person familiar with the developments said. “Defence and security are also something that they are likely to share views on... We have seen wherever incidents have occurred in the past few years we have been able to handle them in a sensible manner. However, what we are looking at is possible additional CBMs (confidence building measures)," the person said.
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