International - India & World   

Indian youth delegation in China on upbeat note

Pallavi Aiyar

100-member group to meet leaders during 10-day visit

— Photo: Pallavi Aiyar

FRIENDS: Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar presents a delegate to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Binguo.

Beijing: An eclectic delegation from India comprising 100 youth, began a 10-day visit to China here on Thursday. Led by Minister of Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar, it brings together judo champions and biomedical engineers, tabla players and panchayati raj leaders, among others.

The group will visit also Shanghai, Nanjing, and Kunming. They will meet state leaders and government functionaries at various levels. They will visit universities, sports institutes and economic zones.

"By bringing a cross-section of our best and brightest to visit China, we are giving an experience to the younger generation which could have a ripple-like effect through the opinion-making sections of society in the future and amongst a number of different disciplines," the Minister said of the idea behind the delegation.

Second group

This is the second such delegation to visit China in a year; the first came in October 2006. In a reciprocal gesture, a Chinese youth delegation travelled to India in November 2006, coinciding with a visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Given the success of those two visits, the joint declaration issued by India and China during Mr. Hu's visit had a clause to invite 500 Indian youth to China and as many Chinese youth to India, over a period of five years.

On Thursday, the Indian delegation met a number of leaders including Vice Foreign Minister Dai Binguo, Vice President of the General Administration of Sport Duan Shijie, and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League Hu Chunhua.

Mr. Dai Binguo, who is China's special representative to the boundary negotiations with India, welcomed the group.

He said: "Five hundred young people visiting over the next five years is just the beginning. We look forward to 5,000 and even 500,000."

China and India had enjoyed long-standing friendly relations stretching back thousands of years for 99.9 per cent of their history, Mr. Dai continued. The two countries "now need to put the 0.1 per cent of unpleasant history behind us." He said Sino-Indian relations were currently on a "fast track" and that the border negotiations were going "very well."

Suggestions

During the interaction with Mr. Dai the delegates put forward a range of suggestions to develop cross-border cooperation mechanisms in their respective fields, ranging from traditional medicine to business.

Wrapping up the meeting on behalf of the Indian side, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar made a reference to Mr. Dai's role in the boundary negotiations and said: "Your Excellency, please sort out the 0.1 per cent of history you talked about and I am sure our young friends here will take forward the remaining 99.9 per cent."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

India, China key in climate change fight: Bush
Tomorrow's decision today at G8
"Britain bribed Saudi Prince in arms deal"
Jobless Tamils evicted from Colombo on grounds of security
Poll bill in Nepal Parliament
Shift missile shield, Putin tells Bush
Pakistan to review TV regulation ordinance
Politics does not make them happy
"Otzi' bled to death
Report on Manmohan `visit' denied
Quattrocchi trial begins
Indian youth delegation in China on upbeat note

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu