My job is done if Indo-Pak ties normalise: P M, Manmohan Singh

Mangalore Today / PTI

April 17: On Board PM’s Special Plane:  Asked to list five things he would want to improve in the Indo-Pak ties, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said he would consider his job done if ties between the two countries normalise.

 

"Well, I think five is too much. If I can succeed in normalising relations between India and Pakistan as they should prevail between two normal states, I would consider my job well done," Dr Singh said.

The Prime Minister was speaking to the reporters on board his special plane while returning from the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) Summit in China. Among its significant outcomes were the decision to send a high-level Indian military delegation to China and setting up of a new mechanism for managing peace on the borders. South Africa attended the summit for the first time.

He also sounded optimistic on the India-China relations after his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this week.

"With regard to defence exchanges, my expectation is that they would be continued and also there was a proposal from the Chinese side when Mr Wen Jiabao came to India to look at the new mechanisms to maintain peace and tranquility on the border. Work is in progress, I hope concrete results will be visible in the near future," Dr Singh said.

About the new mechanism for border management, Dr Singh said it was Chinese proposal made during the visit of their Premier Wen Jiabao to New Delhi last December.

Giving a sense of the meeting with Mr Hu Jintao on Wednesday in Sanya (China), Dr Singh said they had talked about a wide range of issues, including trade imbalance and the Chinese President had agreed that his country too has a "responsibility" to deal with the problem.

"It was a very cordial meeting. We discussed bilateral issues and trade imbalance. We also discussed other relevant issues to international situation and possibility of cooperation between our two countries in international fora a like G-20, WTO and UN Security Council," he told accompanying journalists while returning from a five-day two-nation tour of China and Kazakhstan.