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Hotline planned during Hu's visit

Amit Baruah

To improve issue-linked "coordination"

NEW DELHI: New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to set up a hotline between their Foreign Ministers to improve issue-linked "coordination" between the two nations during the November 20-23 visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India.

South Block sources told The Hindu that the hotline would be part of a large cooperation structure between the Foreign Offices of the two countries.

They said a bilateral investment protection agreement would be signed during Mr. Hu's visit.

The agreement, under discussion for some time, will help promote the rapidly expanding business relationship.

Mr. Hu's trip will be only the second visit ever to India by a Chinese Head of State — Jiang Zemin had come to India as President of the People's Republic of China — 10 years ago in November 1996.

According to the sources, two rounds of expert-level meetings have been held between the two sides on the feasibility of increasing trade. Trade has crossed $18 billion — the $20-billion target set for 2008 during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit appears to be within reach in 2007 itself.

Pointing out that the "basic agreement" on the boundary dispute was reached during the December 1988 visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China, the sources said the bilateral relationship had "blossomed" as discussions continued on the border question.

It is possible that no major agreement on the border issue will be reached during President Hu's visit given that the "guiding principles" for a settlement were clinched only in April 2005 during Premier Wen's trip to New Delhi.

Both sides are engaged in discussing a framework agreement, envisaged in the "guiding principles" accord, between Special Representatives M.K. Narayanan and Dai Bingguo, who have been tasked to approach a solution to the border dispute from a political perspective.

Mr. Hu, whose engagements in New Delhi will be on November 21, will also be delivering an address at Vigyan Bhavan, to be organised by the now-refurbished Indian Council of World Affairs.

The Chinese President, who arrives here on November 20, will travel to Agra and Mumbai on November 22, before leaving for Islamabad on the morning of November 23. He will also address a business meeting in Mumbai, being put together by India's apex chambers of commerce.

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