Good progress made in latest border talks with China: Khurshid

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid met Wang Yi to discuss issues, including contentious border dispute, and asserted that the recent round of talks between their special representatives has made "good progress".

Bandar Seri Begawan/New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Brunei`s capital to discuss issues of mutual concerns, including contentious border dispute, and asserted that the recent round of talks between their special representatives has made "good progress".

Terming their discussions "very cordial", Wang said, the two countries were "natural strategic partners" and "we should engage in all round cooperation in a wide range of areas. "We are two big countries and we have the important responsibility. We believe that we shoulder this common responsibility to regional and global peace and stability." He also said that they have agreed to constantly push forward the relationship between Beijing and New Delhi. "Premier Li Keqiang just visited India and we look forward to receiving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China later this year. We believe that these two visits are like sowing the seeds in spring and reaping the fruits in autumn. And this is our common goal, which we believe serves the interests of both peoples," he said. Asserting that Asia`s future lies together between India and China, Khurshid said, "We have reviewed the work that has to be done, that has already been done since Premier Li`s visit and among the things that we are going to do is several consultations on areas that we are interested in." Noting that the Defence Minister AK Antony will be in China soon, the External Affairs Minister said, "we will take our defence cooperation to a higher level." On whether they discussed border dispute, Wang said, "the 16th round of special representatives consultation was just held in Beijing and as far as I know it was very successful round of discussions and good progress was made." Khurshid also responded, saying,"And I feel I have the same information good progress was made." The 16th round of border talks between the Special Representatives of the two countries--National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Yang Jeichi-- were held in Beijing on June 28-29. Both Khurshid and Wang met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meet. PTI