Copenhagen brought change of climate in Sino-India ties:Ramesh

K J M Varma
Beijing, Apr 11 (PTI) Indian Minister of State for
Environment Jairam Ramesh on Sunday credited the close
cooperation between India and China at the Copenhagen summit
for bringing about a positive change of climate in bilateral
relations.
Ramesh, who headed the Indian delegation to Copenhagen in
December last year, said the two countries are cooperating
"very closely" in climate change negotiations.
While India and China cooperation brought about a change
in climate negotiations, it brought about a change of climate
between the two countries, said Ramesh, who headed India's
first ministerial delegation to the annual Boao Forum for
Asia, a Chinese sponsored business forum which has gained
prominence since it was established nine years ago.
Ramesh spoke on 'Low Carbon Energy: Can Asia lead the
world' and 'China and India-Cooperation in 21st Century' at
the forum on Saturday and Sunday. He said he would be visiting
Beijing on May 7 and 8 to discuss with the Chinese leaders to
take the cooperation further.
A large Indian delegation comprising captains of Indian
industry business and diplomats took part in the meeting and
FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra has been elected to the
Board of the Forum, which holds its annual sessions at the
picturesque Boao town of China's Hainan province.
"India and China have signed an agreement last October
for partnership in climate change and we are cooperating very
closely in climate change negotiations," Ramesh told CCTV in a
brief interview.
"We would like to cooperate in the development of
technology and research in new areas that effect climate
change and I will be visiting Beijing next month to take the
cooperation forward," he said.
India and China worked in close tandem at the Copenhagen
summit, as part of the BRIC framework, and were instrumental
in bringing out a last-minute climate accord.
The close cooperation on the international stage came
even as the bilateral ties were strained by an open spat over
India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
In his presentations at the Boao forum Ramesh, a long
advocate of India-China friendship and floated the phrase
"Chindia" to denote the importance of cooperation, said while
there is some element of competition between the two countries
they should look for more partnerships and collaboration and
opt for more pragmatic solutions.
He said the thinking in the Indian government was that if
India continues to reach out, China would respond. PTI KJV
MYR