Krishna meets Chinese counterpart on sidelines of SCO summit

Beijing, June 8 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

The two ministers spoke at length on various issues affecting bilateral relations, such as the enhancement of trade and economic relations, as well as a mutual building of goodwill.

Krishna and Jiechi also discussed the matter of the two Indian traders, Shyam Sunder Agarwal and Deepak Raheja, stranded in China since December 2011 for non-payment of dues to their Chinese suppliers, both agreeing that the issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

Krishna had earlier said that India was waiting for the expansion modalities to completed and stated that a more comprehensive SCO would be more effective in tackling the challenges of security and development in the region.

The SCO, founded in 2001, includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan who have gathered in the Chinese capital for the annual meeting. Iran, India, Pakistan and others attend the summits, but not as full members.

Belarus and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. Afghanistan attends the organisation's summits as a guest. By Mrityunjay Singh (ANI)