Pakistan needs to act against terrorism, PM Modi tells Xi Jinping
Bishkek, June 13 (UNI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told China that India's relations with Pakistan won't improve until and unless Islamabad takes concrete action against terrorism.
India-Pakistan relations figured in talks between Modi and President Xi Jinping as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan reached the Kyrgyz capital to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Council meeting.
There were reports in the Chinese media suggesting that India should hold talks with Pakistan which have been suspended since 2016.
China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends.
According to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, there was a brief discussion between Modi and Xi on Pakistan and the prime minister said that Islamabad must take concrete action against terrorism.
The Prime Minister recalled that he had made efforts and these efforts had been derailed, that "Pakistan needs to create atmosphere free of terror and at this stage we do not see this happening. We expect it to take concrete action."
Last week, reports from Pakistan said Prime Minister Imran Khan last Friday had written to his Indian counterpart seeking dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries.
Modi described his meeting with President Xi as "extremely fruitful" and said the talks included the full spectrum of India-China relations.
He said both countries will continue working together to improve economic and cultural ties.
Gokhale said that PM Modi noted that strategic communication between the two sides had improved and which had a positive impact in deepening partnership.
In that context, the two nations have been able to resolve long pending issues like opening of Bank of China branch in India and the issue of designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.
The issue of trade imbalance also figured in the talks. The prime minister appreciated the simplification of regulatory process by China regarding export of Basmati rice, sugar and pharmaceutical products.
India and China will mark 70 years of diplomatic ties next year. Both will hold 35 events each to mark the occasion, Gokhale said.
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