Wen to visit India, PM `delighted’

HANOI - Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said he would be visiting India this year in his opening remarks ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday. The prime minister responded by saying that he was “extremely delighted” to hear about it.

The 30-minute meeting, also attended by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Secretary (east) Lata Reddy as well as four cabinet ministers from the Chinese side, saw Wen talking of strong sense of history of the two countries.

Wen told Manmohan Singh that he had said on many occasions that there was enough space for China and India. “To that I add that there is enough space in the world for India and China to have cooperation.”

On this 60th year of the anniversary of India-China diplomatic relations, he said: “I will be visiting India this year.”

Manmohan Singh responded by saying they had met on 10 occasions in the last six years.

He said he was “extremely delighted” to hear that Wen would be coming. He also said he there would need to be a consensus to lay the foundation of a very successful visit.

(Minu Jain can be contacted at minu.jain@ians.in)