New Delhi, June 19: Ahead of the prime ministerial visit to China, external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha today had a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. The two leaders, who are attending the meetings of the ASEAN regional forum and post-ministerial conference, expressed satisfaction at the development of bilateral relations, external affairs ministry spokesman told reporters here. Sinha and Li also discussed preparations for the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from June 22.

The minister also had a separate meeting with his counterparts from Myanmar and Canada.
He will attend a meeting of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation Programme tomorrow in Phnom Penh before flying to Beijing to join the prime ministerial delegation.
This forum comprising of India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao and Myanmar seeks to examine prospects of enhancing cooperation in education, culture, tourism, communications and transportation sectors.
Bureau Report