NEW DELHI: India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold a triangular meeting with Russian and Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Monday, where both are expected to be apprised of comments and pacts agreed during US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to India, sources said.

China had responded tersely to the pact between Mr Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about keeping the sea lanes and air passages open in the South China Sea. Russia, however, had kept studiously quiet over Mr Obama’s comments at a press conference in Delhi slamming President Vladimir Putin’s role in Ukraine.

Also read: As Obama visits, signs that India is pushing back against China

Apart from the announcement of the otherwise routine three-nation foreign ministerial meeting by Ms Swaraj, who is currently in Beijing, there has been no official word from any of the three sides about the formal agenda. It is normal, however, for the ministers at such meetings to discuss issues that directly affect them.

Since his shock election in May last year, Mr Modi has met the Chinese and Russian leaders individually and at multilateral conferences.

Meanwhile, Ms Swaraj told a meeting of Indian and Chinese media in Beijing that India was committed to finding an “early settlement” to the vexed boundary question with China. She reportedly proposed a six-point template to build Sino-India ties to realise the common dream of ‘Asian Century’.

According to Press Trust of India, addressing an India-China Media forum at the start of her four-day visit in Beijing, Ms Swaraj said that in order to achieve the objective the two countries should follow action-oriented approach, broad-based bilateral engagement, convergence of common, regional and global interests, develop new areas of cooperation, expand strategic communication and fulfil common aspirations.

Her visit was taking place against the backdrop of a new government taking over office in India with a decisive mandate, Ms Swaraj said. “Even in the last eight months it is already evident that dramatic transformations are underway in my country that will accelerate our journey to modernity.” She said Prime Minister Modi already met Chinese President Xi Jinping thrice and once Premier Li Keqiang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was the first foreign dignitary to have been invited by India after Mr Modi’s government took over, Ms Swaraj said pointing to the importance India attached to its relations with China.

“Our relationship today has reached a level where we have interactions in fields that could not have been imagined some years ago. We have made considerable progress in establishing and expanding defence contacts and exchanges, including across our border,” Ms Swaraj said.

“They contribute to the maintenance of peace and tranquillity there, a perquisite for the further development of our relationship. On the boundary question my government is committed to exploring early settlement,” she said.

Published in Dawn February 2nd , 2015

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