19-9-2014 2.30PM IST

Medhaj News: Even as the Modi-Xi summit led to important landmark agreements, the xenophobic electronic media remained transfixed on the Leh-Ladakh borders. Despite the xenophobic jingoism, the ties between these two ancient civilizations continue to move ahead due to the vision of successive governments at the centre from Rajiv Gandhi, to Atal Behari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh to Narendra Modi.

The shared Asian vision that both Xi & Modi spoke about hark back to the heydays of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to whom Indo-China friendship was a bedrock for a Non-Aligned world. Perhaps Nehruji was far ahead of his age, but his dream of an Asian brotherhood & a world comity of nations is now being realized.

There has been a sense of continuity in our foreign policy, which has weathered the storms of coalition politics and different ideological worldviews.

Both PM Narendra Modi & President Xi were aware of the great expectations that were expected from this historic summit & despite misgivings on either side of the Himalayas, both the governments have performed remarkably well. Undoubtedly both the governments and their various ministries have burnt the midnight oil to arrive at certain agreements that are mutually beneficial for both the nations.

On the Indian side, the issue of the trade imbalance was brought up for discussion, as were the issues of greater market access for Indian goods into the Chinese markets. President Xi also stated that he would support the full membership of India at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The border issue that is a stumbling block for Indo-Sino ties was also discussed between PM Modi & President Xi and they have both agreed to address the concerns of the other, whilst building our relationship on the economic, strategic & cultural levels.

The landmark agreement over the “BMIC corridor” which links Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and China, linking China’s Yunnan province to the Bay of Bengal, from Kunming to Kolkata, also marks a watershed in Indo-Sino ties.

The BMIC will greatly benefit India’s impoverished Eastern & North-Eastern states, as the BMIC will create transportation, connectivity, infrastructure, increase volume of trade, creation of industrial zones, energy, water management & tourism.



The BMIC Corridor, from Kunming to Kolkatta

Thus 16 MOU’s were signed and they covered the:

• Opening of the Nathula Pass for pilgrims to visit Kailash Mansarovar.

• Technological cooperation in the railway sector.

• Trade & investment wherein China invests $20 billion in the next 5 years.

• Enhanced cooperation between Chambers of Commerce and financial sectors.

• Enhanced cooperation in Science & Technology.

• Specific measures to enhance market access to Indian products such as agricultural, pharmaceutical and export of services will be expedited.

• Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-production.

• Cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, including Research and development of scientific experiment satellites, remote sensing satellites and communications satellites.

• Exchanges between cultural institutions include museums, archaeological organizations and performing art centres.

• Establishes Sister-City relations between Mumbai-Shanghai & between Ahmedabad-Guangzhou. It will enhance people-to-people exchanges fostering greater mutual understanding.

• Setting up of a 1250 acre Industrial Park near Pune, Maharashtra.

• Setting up of Industrial Parks in Gujarat with the support of Chinese enterprises.



At Fortaleza, Brazil – President Vladimir Putin (Russia, PM Narendra Modi (India), President Dilma Roussef (Brazil), President Xi Jinping (China) & PM Jacob Zuma (South Africa)

The visit of President Xi to India, the recent successful visits of PM Modi to both Japan & the Fortaleza BRICS Summit, as well the visit of Foreign Minister Shushma Swaraj at the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), all need to be analysed in a political, economic & strategic context.

This, even as the balance of power begins to shift towards Asia & the East. President Xi spoke of a multi-polar world, where new centres of power are emerging & new alliances being formed. Putin’s Russia continues to look towards the East in his quest to form the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as a counter to the hegemony of the US-EU-Nato. Thus in the coming decade, even as the West continues on its path of wars & imperial hegemony - the most important alignment that could lead the world towards peace, stability & a just equitable system, could revolve around the Russia-China-India (RIC) relationship, in conjunction with other rising powers.