Bishkek, Jun 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday kicked off his first multilateral engagement after re-election with a rich haul of takeaways following interactions with the leaders of China and Russia on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit.
Prime Minister Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the delegation-level talks in the Kyrgyzstan capital that ''We are committed to peaceful negotiations'' and that India has made efforts in this endeavour but ''these efforts have been derailed(by Pakistan).
''Prime Minister Modi informed President Xi that Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism and at this stage we did not see this happening. Therefore, we expect Pakistan to take concrete actions on all the issues that India has proposed,'' Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told a media briefing here.
Mr Modi said, '' We have a consistent position with respect to Pakistan and discuss all issues through a peaceful bilateral mechanism".
Path ahead
Both Mr Modi and President Putin have identified oil link for deeper cooperation between the two nations, the FS added.
"This is an area which we feel, we should engage. And that process has started," he said, adding a delegation from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has already held discussions with Russian side.
"This is something which both the leaders felt we should take forward," Mr Gokhale said.
"Both the leaders also looked at the great opportunities at another area and that is using skilled Indian manpower for development of the far east region," he said adding it is vast but it is also under populated.
The FS added that plans are also afoot for India-Russia Inter Governmental Consultation which is headed by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar from the Indian side.
Defence cooperation
It is planned that there will be a Russia, India and China trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, this month-end.Discussions between PM Modi and Russin leader Putin also touched on defence-related issues.
"Prime Minister Modi thanked President Putin for the quick response from Russia on 'Make in India' programme to manufacture Kalashnikov rifles in Amethi," Mr Gokhale said adding this is a project that was put up in record time.
The FS added, "In the process we move away from buyer seller relationship."
During the bilateral engagement, Mr Modi extended his gratitude to the Russian leadership for conferring its highest civilian award on him.
"The way you took up the project in Amethi, I am very grateful to you," he told the Russian president adding "it appeared you took personal interest.''
Mr Gokhale said it was a brief meeting but "very rich meeting in terms of content".
The next bilateral meeting between two sides will take place within two months, he said.
President Putin also invited Prime Minister Modi to be the main guest at Eastern Economic Forum meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, in early September. Mr Modi has accepted the invitation.
Sino-India ties at new high post-Wuhan, Modi tells Xi
Bishkek, Jun 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held delegation-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit here and told him that Sino-India relations had seen immense improvement since the Wuhan Informal Summit.
"There has been much improvement in our relations since Wuhan Informal Summit (in 2018). We have also become sensitive to each other's interests and concerns. We are also showing better understanding of each other's stance," Mr Modi said at the delegation-level talks.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said, ''We are committed to peaceful negotiations'' and that India has made efforts in this endeavour but ''these efforts have been derailed(by Pakistan).
''Prime Minister Modi informed President Xi that Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism and at this stage we did not see this happening. Therefore, we expect Pakistan to take concrete actions on all the issues that India has proposed,'' Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told a media briefing here.
At the outset, Mr Modi conveyed in advance his best wishes to the Chinese leader whose birthday falls on June 15, Saturday.
Wuhan spirit
The Chinese President congratulated Mr Modi for his party's landslide win in the just-concluded 17th Lok Sabha polls. Mr Modi thanked President Xi and reminded him that the Chinese leader had congratulated last month as well after the polls.
The first Informal Summit between Mr Modi and China's President was held in Wuhan in April last year.
Mr Gokhale said though a brief meeting it was ''very substantive'' and the atmosphere was very positive.''...the Wuhan spirit was very much present and this is the beginning of a series of meetings by both sides,'' he said, adding both the leaders expressed optimism about their next possible meeting at G20 Summit in Osaka in Japan.
Both Mr Modi and President Xi Jinping are expected to meet during the BRICS Summit and during the Informal Summit later this year in India. ''The venue and the timing has not been decided,'' he said about the Informal Summit.
Beginning
''This is the beginning of a process after the formation of the (Modi) government,'' Mr Gokhale said. The Foreign Secretary said the meeting should be seen in the larger context of relations between the two countries and in the Indo-Pacific context.
Answering questions, Mr Gokhale confirmed that issues pertaining to Pakistan also figured at the talks. ''There was a very brief discussion on Pakistan...as time was a constraint,'' he said.
Prime Minister Modi had said, '' We have a consistent position with respect to Pakistan and discuss all issues through a bilateral mechanism. We look for a peaceful settlement through negotiations.''
The Chinese leader is expected to visit India for the second Informal Summit with Mr Modi this year. Mr Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan on Thursday late evening.
He will attend an informal dinner to be hosted by Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov.The two-day SCO Council of Heads meeting will conclude on Friday.
Modi, Xi Jinping discuss China-US trade ties
Bikshek, Jun 13 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their first bilateral engagement since the parliamentary elections in India on Thursday discussed on issues concerning the China-US trade relations.
"There was a general discussion on the global situation and obviously in that context, the issue of China-US relations have come up. But there was no time for a very detailed discussion on these matters," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later told reporters here.
He said the focus of the bilateral meeting has been to "reaffirm" that in the five-year term of the Modi government which coincidentally also closely matches with the term of the President Xi Jinping in his second term, "the two countries have a historic opportunity to move forward on a number of issues to address a number of problems".
Both the leaders were also sincere about taking the India-China relations to a "new level", the Foreign Secretary said.
"No detailed discussion took place," Mr Gokhale clarified adding a general directives have been given and it is for the officials on both sides to see how this can be taken forward.
The business prospects in China for American majors are at risk because the mainland is rapidly becoming less welcoming and profitable, amid dampened consumer confidence.
Mr Modi is here to attend the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Prime Minister Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan on Thursday late evening.
He will attend an informal dinner to be hosted by Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov.
The two-day SCO Council of Heads meeting will conclude on Friday.
PM Modi meets Afghan Prez, discusses bilateral issues
Bishkek, Jun 13 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and shared perspectives on the role played by India towards an inclusive peace process.
"Late night meeting between trusted friends. PM Narendra Modi met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on sidelines of SCO Summit in Bishkek. Shared perspectives on situation in Afghanistan, including the role played by India towards an inclusive peace process," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
Earlier after his arrival here for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, Mr Modi kicked off his first multilateral engagement since his re-election with a rich haul of takeaways following interactions with the leaders of China and Russia.
Prime Minister Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the delegation-level talks in the Kyrgyzstan capital that - ''We are committed to peaceful negotiations'' and that India has made efforts in this endeavour but ''these efforts have been derailed (by Pakistan).
''Prime Minister Modi informed President Xi that Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free of terrorism and at this stage we did not see this happening. Therefore, we expect Pakistan to take concrete actions on all the issues that India has proposed,'' Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told a media briefing here.
Mr Modi said, '' We have a consistent position with respect to Pakistan and discuss all issues through a peaceful bilateral mechanism".
Both Mr Modi and Russian President Putin have identified oil link for deeper cooperation between the two nations, the FS said.
"This is an area which we feel, we should engage. And that process has started," he said, adding a delegation from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has already held discussions with Russian side.
No comments:
Post a Comment