Singapore: Seeking "more convergence and
common ground" in Sino-India ties, Foreign Secretary Nirupama
Rao has said "a conflicted or contest-ridden" relationship
cannot help the two countries, which should engage in a
transparent dialogue to ensure peace and stability in the
region.
"It is a truism that between two such large countries
such as ours, relations will be complex and with continuing
areas of divergence. The challenge remains to build more
convergence and common ground," Rao said.
The remarks made yesterday were part of her speech at
Singapore Consortium for China-India Dialogue on "Rabindranath
Tagore`s Vision of India and China: a Twenty First Century
Perspective".
"I believe that the ballast must come from deeper
dialogue which is defined by greater transparency,
understanding the relevance and import of the words of
thinkers like Tagore, realising that a conflicted or contest-
ridden relationship between India and China can do neither any
good, that peace and stability for an Asian century flows from
the enduring strength of a well-functioning interaction
between these two countries," Rao said.
She said India and China share what is termed as a
strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity
today. Their relations have, in the last decade particularly,
grown increasingly multi-faceted.
These two big economies of Asia are interacting closely
with each other, both in terms of bilateral trade, but also on
issues concerning the global economic situation, Rao said.
The two governments have decided to institute a strategic
economic dialogue as a measure of the increasing complexity
and sophistication of their negotiations on economic issues,
Rao said.
As preparations are on to celebrate the 150th
anniversary of Tagore`s birth, she noted that the year will
also mark the 87th anniversary of his memorable visit to
China.
"He went to China with a message of love and brotherhood
that he felt symbolised the essence of the ties between the
two countries," Rao said.
Tagore truly believed in the mutually beneficial
interactive relationship between the two great civilisations
of China and India, she said.
"He passionately advocated the reopening of the path
between the two countries that had become obscured through the
centuries," the Foreign Secretary said.
PTI
