International   

India, China to step up counter-terror cooperation

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE June 13. India and China today expressed their willingness and operational preparedness to strengthen counter-terror cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

An affirmation of this magnitude, which marked the second meeting of the Sino-Indian Dialogue Mechanism on Counter-Terrorism in Beijing today, could not have come at a better time than on the eve of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to China from June 22 to 27. While India and China have been trying to position themselves at the forefront of the international campaign against terrorism, the accord between Beijing and New Delhi to cooperate at the bilateral level acquires a definitive significance. The ground-level Sino-Indian cooperation will be watched with interest by the international community.

Shen Guofang, Assistant Minister in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who received the Indian delegation, said that the bilateral counter-terror dialogue would, in one sense, prepare the ground for Mr. Vajpayee's imminent visit to Beijing.

Making a positive assessment of the bilateral counter-terrorism dialogue, he underscored the importance of enhancing Sino-Indian ties in the present international milieu.

At the meeting, the Chinese and Indian officials reviewed the global and regional situations and emphasised the United Nations' role as a catalyst for action against the threat of terrorism.

The Indian delegation was led by Ashok K. Kantha, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, while the Chinese side was headed by Zhang Jun, Acting Director-General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. The next meeting of this counter-terror panel would be held in India in the first half of 2004.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Ambush triggers battle; 27 dead
• Israel engages Hamas in battle, talks
• Air, rail links will follow: Musharraf
• Intelligence on weapons not concocted, says Powell
• U.S. opposed to curbs on outsourcing
• India, China to step up counter-terror cooperation
• Arrest leads to clashes
• Accord on E.U. Constitution
• Global court exemption for U.S. renewed
• Blair abolishes U.K.'s oldest institution
• Indian priest held in U.S.
• HIV spread from chimps to man, say researchers
• Pak. must stop cross-border terrorism: Russia
• Aziz Khan meets Musharraf

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu