Date:04/04/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/04/04/stories/2007040418391500.htm

National

China, India have same view on Iran: Li

Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI: "I am very happy that China and India have a shared position on Iran's nuclear issue," the Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing is reported to have told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a bilateral meeting on Tuesday.

Government sources said after the meeting that Mr. Li's reference was to the rights and obligations Iran had as a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

Mr. Li also told the Prime Minister that the Chinese side was looking forward to his visit to Beijing later this year. The Foreign Minister assured Dr. Singh that his trip would have fruitful results.

India and China, Mr. Li stated, were good partners, good neighbours and good brothers. Border talks between the Special Representatives would take place later this month, he maintained.

In his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, the Prime Minister stressed the need to speed up the rail freight corridor for which Tokyo was providing assistance to India. The visit of Japanese Prime Minister Minister Shinzo Abe to India, possibly in October, also came up for discussion.

Business issues figured in the talks Dr. Singh had with the South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, who like his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, is here to attend the SAARC summit as an observer.

According to the sources, the situation in the Korean peninsula also came up during the talks. The South Korean Foreign Minister invited the Prime Minister to visit Seoul.