June 23, 2003	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 22,1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

BEIJING, June 22: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee arrived in Beijing on Sunday for talks aimed at building trust and economic ties between the two countries.

Vajpayee’s six-day trip, the first by an Indian prime minister in a decade, will set the stage for greater political and trade links, officials said.

The two sides will also look for ways to advance long-running negotiations to resolve a decades-old dispute over their Himalayan border, considered a key to better ties.

Ties nosedived in 1998 after New Delhi carried out nuclear tests, seen in Beijing both as a response to nuclear-armed China and Pakistan.

Since then, both countries have sought to stabilize relations with a series of political visits and talks.—Reuters