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The Chief of General Staff, People’s Liberation Army of China Gen Liang Guanglie, called on the Minister of Defence Shri Pranab Mukherjee, today. The meeting lasted for 30 minutes. The China’s Chief of General Staff and Shri Mukherjee asserted the favourable trend of relations between the People’s Liberation Army and the Armed Forces of India in keeping with the growing economic and political relations between the two countries.
The recent April 2005 visit of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the documents signed during the visit of the then Chief of the Army Staff Gen N C Vij in December, 2004, and the joint naval SAR exercises in November 2003 and the Chinese invitation to the Indian Army to observe military exercise in China in September, 2004 also came for discussion.
The Chinese Chief of General Staff, Gen Liang Guanglie made a number of proposals to further expand friendly cooperation between the two Armed Forces. The Defence Minister shared his view that the two sides and Armed Forces must work to promote peace and tranquility on the border and promote stability and development in Asia.
Shri Pranab Mukherjee emphasized the need to take further the existing good relationship to a new height. The discussion was held generally in a cordial atmosphere. The Chinese General’s visit came after the visit of the Chinese Premier recently in which a number of agreements of strategic cooperation between two countries were concluded. Earlier the General met the National Security Advisor Shri M K Narayanan this morning.
The Chinese General arrived on a four-day visit on Monday and had meetings with the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. J J Singh, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, Chief of the Staffs Committee and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash, yesterday. Before returning to home, he is scheduled to visit National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, and Paratroopers Training School, Agra.
TJ /HS
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