India and China on Saturday agreed to boost partnership between the countries and strengthen relations with regard to security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during delegation-level talks at the eighth Brics summit in Goa, recognised terrorism as a key issue, according to External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
During the meeting, Modi had asserted that both countries had been "victims of terrorism", which was a "scourge afflicting the entire region". Alluding to the threat from the Islamic State group, President Xi said terrorism and violent extremism were on the rise, Swarup said. India and China must step up counter-terror efforts and maintain strategic communication and dialogue on the subject, Modi said, according to the MEA spokesperson.
Referring to China's move to block India's attempt to have Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the United Nations, Swarup said China was "well aware of our concerns". "We are maintaining continuous dialogue with China and expect the country to see the logic in what we are saying," the spokesperson said, according to ANI. Swarup added that during discussions, Modi had said "no country is immune from terrorism, and this is an issue on which we cannot afford to have any differences".
Modi and Xi also briefly discussed India's bid for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Swarup said. The prime minister said that they "looked forward to working with China to realise India's membership to the NSG", he said, adding that a round of consultations had already been held between the two sides, and that the Chinese president had said a second round would be held soon.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry said the country will continue to oppose India's bid for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. On October 10, Beijing had said it was "willing to jointly explore" the possibility of India joining the NSG as long as "certain rules are respected". On Friday, the Chinese spokesperson said there was no change in the country's position in this regard.
Earlier in the day, India signed a number of agreements with Russia, and Modi expressed the country's wish to expand cooperation in various fields with Russian President Vladimir Putin's backing. He also praised Russia's "zero tolerance" policy towards terrorism.
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