Sikkim no longer an issue: Manmohan

PM briefed Parliament on his talks with Chinese PM and Pak Prez.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday briefed Parliament on the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India and the agreement between the two countries envisaging a political settlement of their decades-old boundary dispute.

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Members from both sides thumped their desks and greeted the Prime Minister's announcement that Sikkim, the former Himalayan principality before its merger with India in 1975, is "no longer an issue in India-China relations".

The Chinese leader paid a four-day visit to India from April 9 and held wide-ranging discussions with the Prime Minister and other Indian leaders.

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Manmohan Singh noted that the joint statement issued at the end of the visit had referred to Sikkim as a "state of the Republic of India". The Prime Minister said the Chinese side had also officially handed over to India a revised map showing Sikkim as an "integral part of India".

He also referred to the decision by the two countries to give a major fillip to bilateral economic ties to take the two-way trade from the present $13 billion to $20 billion by 2008.

He said the two countries agreed to set up a joint economic group to facilitate expansion of trade in goods and services and investment flows, besides other areas.

The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved in talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to India from April 16 to 18.

Declaring that India was committed to peace and friendship with Pakistan, Manmohan Singh said while redrawing of boundaries was not possible, greater traffic of people and trade across the Line of Control (LoC) would create an atmosphere of mutual trust between the two countries.