Mizzima: Indian President supports

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Indian President supports the Kunming Initiative

KUNMING, June 3, 2000
Mizzima News Group

The Kunming Initiative will have long-term consequences for Sino-Indian
cooperation as well as immediate impact on peace, stability and progress
in the region, the Indian President Mr. K.R. Narayanan said yesterday.

Talking with the scholars from the Yunan Academy of Social Sciences in
Kunming, Mr. Narayanan said among the merits of the initiative are the
focus on some of the backward regions in India and China, and the
attempt to draw in Bangladesh and Burma, both striving for economic
growth.

The Indian President was in Kunming yesterday on the last leg of his
week-long State visit to China.

The Yunan Academy of Social Sciences and the Yunan Provincial Economic
and Technological Research Centre jointly organized an international
conference on August 15-17, last year in Kunming to discuss the need for
regional cooperation among India, China, Bangladesh and Burma.

The conference, participated by over 100 officials and scholars from the
four countries, discussed economic, trade and technological cooperation
among the four countries and construction of roads, air links, water
routes and railways across the region.

After the conference, the participants had proposed a so-called Kunming
Initiative, calling for forging a long-term relation of friendship and
joint efforts to accelerate economic development in the region. The
participants also called upon the four Governments to encourage the
Initiative.

Among others, it proposed to establish a Forum for Regional Economic
Cooperation among the four countries and at present the Governments are
considering the implementation of the proposal.

Yunan is currently working on a mega project to harness the waters of
the majestic Mekong river through cooperation among China, Laos, Burma,
Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

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