China foreign minister in India talks
Brazil, India and South Africa eye permanent seats on
UN Security Council:
INDIA: China's foreign minister held talks in India on
Thursday that focused on an upcoming summit of major emerging economies
and issues affecting often troubled ties.
Yang Jeichi, who arrived in New Delhi late Wednesday, kicked off his
brief official visit with a round of discussions with his Indian
counterpart S.M. Krishna.
The talks would focus on preparations for a summit of the so-called
BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- in New
Delhi at the end of March, said foreign ministry spokesman Syed
Akbaruddin.
Brazil, India and South Africa have been lobbying to turn their
growing economic clout into greater diplomatic influence by securing
permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
Akbaruddin said the talks would also touch on “all issues” in
China-India relations, but added that no meeting was scheduled between
Yang and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Ties between the neighbours have never been easy and a border dispute
which triggered a brief but bloody war in 1962 remains a source of
tension and deep mistrust. Fifteen rounds of talks on the border issue
have yielded no progress and India fears China is becoming more
assertive about its territorial claims. AFP |