India, China to set up cultural centres

New Delhi, Dec 25 (UNI) India and China will work for establishing Cultural Centres in either country in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two countries in Beijing in 2003.

The two sides will hold consultations on the time and modalities for reciprocal organisation of 'Festival of India' and 'Festival of China.' This emerged during discussions between Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni, now on a visit to Beijing, and her Chinese counterpart Sun Jiazheng on bilateral cultural cooperation, an fficial spokesman said here.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed to give momentum to the comprehensive development of official and people-to-people exchanges.

They also agreed to assign a pro-active role to culture in the development of India-China relations in the spirit of the Joint Declaration issued during the visit of President Hu Jintao here last month.

The two sides expressed satisfaction over the celebration of India-China Friendship Year in 2006 and the cultural exchanges by both sides under this programme.

They also welcomed the organisation of the 'Treasures of Ancient India' Exhibition in four cities of China as a good channel of communication and friendship between the people of the two countries.

It was noted with satisfaction that the construction of the Indian-style Buddhist shrine in Luoyang and the restoration work at the Xuanzang Memorial Hall in Nalanda were progressing smoothly and were both expected to be inaugurated next year.

During her stay, Mrs Soni will jointly inaugurate the largest ever exhibition of Indian art in China, the 'Treasures of Ancient India,' alongwith Executive Vice Foreign Minister of China, Dai Bingguo.

UNI RB SI PM2017