India has a catalytic role to play: Yechury

New Delhi, Oct 26 (UNI) India has a catalytic role to play in bringing together China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa to promote multilateralism and hoped that the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao will provide an opportunity, the CPI(M) said today.

After calling on Pranab Mukherjee this evening, who assumed the office of External Affairs Minister yesterday, party polit bureau member Sitaram Yechury told reporters that Mr Hu's visit next month is ''significant" in many ways.

Mr Yechury, the Party Parliamentary Group leader, who has recently returned from a visit to China, said efforts should be made by China and India to continue negotiations to strengthen bilateral relations.

" While China is much advanced in manufacturing and hardware sectors, India has achieved competence and self-sufficiency in Software and IT," Mr Yechury said adding that all irritants including the border dispute should not come in the way of bilateral trade, touching all time high at 10 billion dollars.

He also made a strong case for relaxing visa restrictions on the part of the Indian government and emphasised that while taking into acount security considerations, the cases should be viewed not on" country specific" but universally. His obvious reference was to India refusing permission to certain Chinese companies to invest in the country on this ground.

" No country should be discriminated.This stance has to be changed," he said adding that the present UPA government could do the same in view of its commitment as a basic feature of foreign policy as enshrined in the CMP.

UNI KSA RP HT2002