India, China to set up cultural centres in acc with MoU

New Delhi, Dec 26: India and China will work for establishingCultural Centres in either country in accordance with the Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) signed between the two countries in Beijing in2003.

The two sides will hold consultations on the time and modalitiesfor reciprocal organisation of 'Festival of India' and 'Festival ofChina.' This emerged during discussions between Tourism and CultureMinister Ambika Soni, now on a visit to Beijing, and her Chinesecounterpart Sun Jiazheng on bilateral cultural cooperation, an fficialspokesman said here.

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

They also agreed to assign a pro-active role to culture in thedevelopment of India-China relations in the spirit of the JointDeclaration issued during the visit of President Hu Jintao here lastmonth.

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

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

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

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

UNI