NEW DELHI, Oct 22 � The contentious issues troubling India-China relations is expected to be raised when Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh meets Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of ASEAN and East Asia Summit at Hanoi next week.
Caught on the backfoot over a number of issues, including intrusion by China, bid to divert Brahmaputra River, problems over issue of visas to people of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and belligerent attitude of the Opposition BJP, the Prime Minister is likely to voice New Delhi�s growing concern.
However, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao played safe while briefing newsmen ahead of the Prime Minister�s departure for the three-nation tour of Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam on Sunday. �It is premature to state the nature of discussion between the two Prime Ministers,� she said.
India and China are important Asian countries and neighbours of each other. When two neighbours meet, a lot of issues are discussed. Both the countries have matured and grown and their agenda is always rich and textured, Rao said. �Obviously, we have space enough for India and China to grow,� she added.
The Prime Minister will travel to Hanoi on the third and final leg of his Asia tour, for participating in the Eighth India-ASEAN Summit and Fifth East Asia Summits on October 30.
At the India-ASEAN Summit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with his 10 ASEAN counterparts. The India-ASEAN Trade-in-Goods Agreement became operational on January 1. �The India-ASEAN Plan of Action for 2010-15 is proposed to be adopted during the summit. A series of events are also being contemplated next year leading to the first ever India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in India in 2012.
The Fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) would also be held on October 30. It would deliberate on the issues of energy, environment, climate change and sustainable development, financial cooperation, pandemics, natural disaster mitigation among others, besides Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) and Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
The Prime Minister would also brief the EAS leaders on the Nalanda University Project, which is now ready to take-off after the acquisition of land and passage of the Nalanda University Bill in Parliament.
The PM is visiting Japan for his Annual Summit with Japanese PM Naoto Kan. Singh will hold extensive discussions with Kan both in restricted and delegation level sessions, on bilateral, regional and global issues.
