January 16, 2002	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 1, 1422

NEW DELHI, Jan 15: Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have agreed to evolve a mechanism to fight terrorism.

This is in addition to the agreements on cooperation in the fields of tourism, hydrological information, science and space technology as well as exchange of scientific personnel and the application of physosanitary measures.

The mechanism on cooperation in the field of anti-terrorism is likely to be in the form of a joint working group of the ministry of foreign affairs. The role which will be assigned to it is yet to be specified.

Speaking at the banquet in honour of Zhu, Vajpayee said, “cooperation against terrorism is at the top of the agenda of all peace-loving countries and I am happy that we have agreed to check this threat”.

The new relationship is of unique importance taking into account China’s cordial relationship with Pakistan.

The policy, according to Vajpayee, is “to maintain evenness in the relationship and keep the dialogue going even in areas of differences”.

He also said, “it is a sign of shared cultural legacy and the maturity of our relations that we can move ahead on all areas of bilateral cooperation while sustaining a continuous dialogue to address our differences.”

Vajpayee noted that there were many areas of mutual interest where India and China could work together. For this new improved trend in Sino-Indian ties, Vajpayee believed that it was largely because of Zhu’s personal desire to see the relationship work.

Under the memorandum of understanding on hydrological data sharing, it is expected to help significantly in forecasting floods caused by the Brahmaputra river in the rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal along the north-western states.

According to Himanshu Thakkar of the ‘South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People’, the MOU “will help India plan and prepare for the floods and also work on water resources development plans in the catchment areas.” It will help check floods in the north eastern states of Assam and Arunanchal Pradesh.

As a step towards promoting tourism, China announced that a direct flight would be operated between Beijing and New Delhi from March.

Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is likely to visit China on the inaugural flight planned for March 28.

Both the prime ministers also discussed border problems as well as Indo-Pak relations.

However, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji was more inclined towards economic issues and made it a point to expand bilateral trade which stands to the tune of three billion dollars.

China also signed contracts worth 125 million dollars with five major Indian companies.