New Delhi: All substantive issues of interest, including the festering border issue between India and China will be on the table during talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 18, the external affairs ministry said yesterday.
Briefing the media ahead of the much-anticipated visit of the Chinese president, external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, in answer to a question whether the border question and Tibet would figure in the talks, said “all substantive issues of interest” to India and China will be on the table.
On whether Xi and Modi will try reaching an agreement and declare the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as the de jure border between the two countries, he said it was “left to the leaders”.
Modi as a special gesture will receive Xi when he arrives at his hotel in Ahmedabad on September 17. Xi will be accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, two members of the Communist Party of China, the state councillor and ministers of foreign affairs and commerce.
Modi will host a dinner on the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad for Xi on September 17, after which the two leaders will travel to Delhi for meetings the following day.
On Thursday, Xi will be received by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan. XI will then visit Rajghat and will be also called on by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Modi and Xi would hold talks at Hyderabad House. Discussions may also take place on cooperation over smart cities and railways.
Akabaruddin said both countries were trying to promote civilian use of nuclear energy. “Both India and China are developing economies with an enormous appetite for energy. Given the challenge, both are committed to peaceful use of nuclear energy. There could be discussions on possible cooperation on this area,” he said.
Xi is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address on September 18. Among those who would call on Xi on September 19 would be Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, before he leaves. IANS
