NEW DELHI: A business meeting of Indian, Chinese and Russian entrepreneurs will be held later this year, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. He was speaking at a joint press interaction with his Chinese and Russian counterparts Li Zhaoxing and Sergei Lavrov here. India proposed to host a trilateral seminar in 2007 on "emerging geo-strategic trends" with the participation of officials and scholars.

"We also discussed the formalities of expert-level discussions among the three countries on issues such as energy, biotechnology and health," Mr. Mukherjee said.

Without going into specifics, he said the three Ministers shared their thoughts on the political, economic and security aspects of the global situation, the present world order and recent developments in various areas of mutual concern.

Answering a question on weaponisation of outer space, the Ministers said they were opposed to such a development. While Mr. Mukherjee pointed to a common approach by the three countries, Mr. Li said China was committed to both world peace and peace in outer space.

N. Korea deal hailed

In his opening remarks, Mr. Lavrov said the Ministers welcomed the "deal" reached on the North Korean nuclear issue at the six-party talks in Beijing. India, Russia and China were united in their endeavour to develop multilateral diplomacy. Mr. Li, who spoke in both English and Mandarin, said their meeting was productive and fruitful, and it "further expanded" the common ground among the three countries.

They agreed to play an "even greater role" in maintaining world peace. Mr. Li came out in support of Russia's entry into the East Asian Summit, where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, South Korea, Japan and India are represented. He said India, China and Russia were "important neighbouring countries," with fast-growing economies. "There is great potential for tripartite economic cooperation." The tripartite cooperation was open and inclusive. "It is constructive cooperation."

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