India, Chi open maritime affairs dialogue

New Delhi, Feb 4: New Delhi and Beijing officials here on Thursday held the iugural India-Chi maritime affairs dialogue and discussed wide range of issues related to maritime cooperation. The meeting covered a gamut of issues of “mutual interest and prospects for maritime cooperation between the two countries”, an official statement said here.

“The dialogue covered exchange of perspectives on maritime security, developments in intertiol regimes such as the United tions Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Intertiol Maritime Organisation (IMO) and prospects for maritime cooperation,” read the statement. Earlier, Chi desired to step up maritime cooperation and dialogue with India and other South Asian countries to allay their concerns over increased Chinese val activity in the Indian Ocean. The next round of dialogue will be held in Beijing on a mutually convenient date. The Indian delegation was led by Amandeep Singh Gill, joint secretary (Disarmament and Intertiol Security Affairs), in the exterl affairs ministry and the Chinese delegation was led by Kong Xuanyou, assistant minister of foreign affairs of Chi. (IANS)