India, China, Russia tying trade

Himalayan News Service

Moscow, June 8:

After their first tripartite meet, Russia, India and China plan to hold a joint business forum in India in March 2006, reports Xinhua.

Foreign ministers of the three countries met on June 2 in Russia’s far eastern port city of Vladivostok in their first such meeting.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov described talks with K Natwar Singh and Li Zhaoxing,

his Indian and Chinese counterparts, as ‘frutiful’, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Several joint documents for mutually beneficial cooperation in energy, trade, transportation and high tech sectors were adopted at the meet. Lavrov said the agreements signed would strengthen tripartite cooperation and meet the interests of each country.

The ministers also reached consensus on cooperation between police forces,

secret services and agencies in fighting terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking, the Russian minister said.

The foreign ministers of the three countries have met thrice in the past — twice on the sidelines of the UN general Assembly in 2002 and 2003 and in Kazakhstan in 2004 for the meeting on confidence-building measures in Asia.