India-Russia-China pact to boost ties

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New Delhi, June 2: India, Russia and China have decided to intensify efforts to step up economic cooperation in the trilateral format particularly in the fields of transport, agriculture, energy and high technologies.

At the end of two-hour tripartite meeting of external affairs minister K Natwar Singh with his counterparts from Russia, Sergei Lavrov and Li Zhaoxing from China in Vladivostok, they also decided to cooperate in combating terrorism and other new threats and agreed on the "objective requirement" for comprehensive UN reforms covering expansion of the Security Council.

According to a two-page joint communique issued at the end of the talks, the ministers expressed satisfaction at the ‘dynamic development’ of bilateral relations between India and Russia, Russia and China and India and China.

"This opens up possibilities for India, Russia and China to raise their trilateral cooperation to a qualitatively new level," it said.

The three ministers "declared the intention of India, Russia and China to cooperate in trilateral format in combating new threats and challenges," the communique added.

The three leaders stressed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and irrespective of its origins and motivations posed one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

And it was agreed that the scourge of terrorism should be combated in a "consistent, sustained and comprehensive manner without any double standards."

They underscored the need for coordinated action between the law enforcement authorities of the three countries to act against illegal drug trafficking and other manifestations of trans-border crimes.

At a joint press conference, Mr Singh said it was decided that India would host the first trilaterad business meeting in New Delhi early next year.

Experts and officials from the three countries would meet to examine concrete possibilities in transport, agriculture, energy, high technologies and other sectors and make specific recommendations. The ministers stressed on the important role of direct business-to-business contacts.