NEW DELHI, Sept 30, Reuter: Senior Indian Officials will fly to Peking next week to discuss plans for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to visit China, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
A ministry spokesman said, K.P.S. Menon, India’s most senior foreign affairs officials, and former Gandhi aide Gopi Arora will fly to China on October 3 for five days.
Menon is a former Ambassador to Peking. Arora became information Secretary earlier this year.
No Indian Prime Minister has visited China since 1962 when a territorial dispute between the world’s two most populous nations erupted into a brief but bitter border war.
Senior Officials privately said Gandhi was expected to visit China in December.
The official spokesman said a date for Gandhi’s visit could be finalized during the talks with Chinese leaders next week.
The 1962 war ended a period of warm relations between New Delhi and Peking. It was a major setback to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister and Gandhi’s grandfather.
The territorial dispute is still unresolved although Indian officials indicate some progress has been made after several rounds of talks.
India says China occupies 38,000 sq km (14,500 sq miles) of its territory in Aksai Chin on India’s northwestern border.
China says India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh includes 90,000 sq km (34,750 sq miles) of Chinese territory.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 7, 1988
