Modi-XI Jinping Summit, Kashmir issue not raised
MAHABALIPURAM/ NEW DELHI :The Kashmir issue was not raised or discussed during the during the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.
“This (Kashmir) issue was not raised and not discussed.Our position is anyway very clear that this is an internal matter of India,”
India had previously taken exception to references concerning Kashmir following talks between Xi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan ahead of the Chinese President’s visit to India for the informal meet.
On the second day of the informal summit between India and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi held delegation-level talks Saturday. Calling for a sensitive approach towards’s each other’s concern, Modi, at the beginning of the talk said, “we have decided to manage our differences prudently”, and will not let them become disputes”.
A new era of cooperation will begin today through ‘Chennai Connect’,” Modi said while referring to the outcome of the first informal summit between the two leaders in the Chinese port last year.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that informal summit continued to produce “visible progress” for the past one year. ” Had “heart to heart discussions” on bilateral relations. “We’ve had really in-depth engagements and good discussions,” he said.
Saying that the two countries made the right decision to have this kind of informal summits, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “What has happened has proved that we have made the right decision to have this kind of informal summits, that we can continue with this form of meeting.” He further said, ” we have “deeper strategic communication”, “more effective practical cooperation”.
President Xi Jinping said that informal summit continued to produce “visible progress” for the past one year. ” Had “heart to heart discussions” on bilateral relations. “We’ve had really in-depth engagements and good discussions,” he said.
Since yesterday, President Xi and PM Modi had spent more than five hours in one-on-one conversations, during which they discussed a range of issues including trade and investment, combating terror, tourism and the need to expand people to people contact.
President Xi Jinping left for Nepal on Saturday by an Air China aircraft, concluding his second informal summit with Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, which has signalled a recalibration of bilateral ties. India and China will set up a mechanism to tackle India’s galloping trade deficit with the world’s second-biggest economy, a top Indian diplomat said on Saturday, following summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
Addressing a press conference, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, “the two leaders today had a conversation for almost 90 minutes, followed by delegation-level talks and then lunch was hosted by PM Modi. A total of 6 hours of one to one meeting was held between the two leaders during this summit.
“A new mechanism will be established to discuss trade, investment and services, at an elevated level. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Vice Premier, Hu Chunhua China will discuss this,” he added.
Recalling the first informal summit in Wuhan, PM Modi said, ” the first summit led to fresh stability in our relations and gave a fresh momentum. Strategic communication between our two countries has also increased.”He added. Calling for a sensitive approach towards’s each other’s concern, Modi, at the beginning of the delegation-level talks said, “we have decided to manage our differences prudently”, and will not let them become disputes”.
“President Xi spoke of the informal summit making visible progress since the last time… He also said the informal summit should continue and lead on for future leaders as well,” foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said today.
In his opening remarks for the delegation-level meet, President Xi said the informal summit initiative was a “wise decision” and that he was looking forward to “further discussions in an in-depth manner with you (PM Modi) and make further plans for bilateral relations”.
The idea of unstructured, free-wheeling discussions was floated after PM Modi and President Xi met in Kazakh capital Astana in June 2017 for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. It was preceded by an informal meet between President Xi and US President Donald Trump at his glitzy Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago in 2017.
Last year’s meet in Wuhan between the two leaders was considered a landmark meet credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff.
Recalling the Wuhan meet today, President Xi said it “ushered China-India relations to a new stage of healthy and steady development” and “continues to produce visible progress and closer cooperation”. The two nations, he said, now enjoy a “deeper strategic communication and effective practical cooperation”.
“Both leaders agreed that the reformed dialogue structure after the Wuhan summit has significantly improved communications between both countries.” Mr Gokhale said.
(With Agency Inputs ).
