External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Friday said he will travel to China on April 7 on his maiden visit, which would further reaffirm the strong bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants.
Mr. Krishna, who is on an official visit to this city-state, said he was looking forward to his China visit.
“I am looking forward to the April 7 visit to China which would held further reaffirm the strong bilateral ties between India and China,” he told reporters here.
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About the boundary issue with China, he said: “There are some concerns about border issue with China, but these are being handled through respective representatives from the two sides.”
The Minister also expressed satisfaction over his visit to Singapore and said he has exchanged views on regional and bilateral issues with the leaders here.
During the visit, Mr. Krishna called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Prof. S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
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He held wide-ranging discussions with his counterpart George Yeo.
Mr. Krishna also met with some 200 Indian businessmen and expatriate community at a reception and applauded their contribution to the Singapore and Indian economies.
Addressing the Indian community, he said the fiscal year 2009-10 was a challenging year for the Indian economy.
“The significant deceleration in the second half of 2008-09 on account of global financial crisis and economic recession brought the real GDP growth down to 6.7 per cent, from an average of over 9 per cent in the preceding three years,” he said.
It was also a year of reckoning for the policymakers, who had taken a calculated risk in providing substantial fiscal expansion to counter the negative fallout of the global slowdown, Mr. Krishna said.
He also hoped that the visa on arrival scheme for Singapore nationals coming to India for tourism will prove popular.