India and China ink 8 agreements: Here is a look

, May 21: India and Chine on Monday inked eight important pacts covering a wide range of issues like trade, culture and water resources. The

were finalised after delegation-level talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visitingg Chinese counterpart Le Keqiang.

Here are the list of eight agreements/memoranda of undrstanding (MoUs):

1. Protocol between India's external affairs ministry and China's foreign affairs ministry on Indian Official Pilgrimage (the Kailash Mansoarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi signed it. Both sides agreed to conduct the Yatra from May to September every year.The Chinese side will improve the existing facilities on the route of the pilgrims, including the communication.

2. Work Programmes of the Three Working Groups under Joint Economic Group (JEG) between India's commerce and industry ministry and China's commerce ministry.

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma and his Chinese counterpart Gao Hucheng signed the agreement. The three working groups under the JEG are: Services Trade Promotion Working Group, Economic and Trade Planning Cooperation and Trade Statistical Analysis.

3. MoU on Buffalo meat, fishery products and Agreement on feed and feed ingredients between Indis's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and The Marine Products Export Development Authority and Export Inspection Council and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

Sharma and China's AQSIQ minsiter Zhi Shuping were signatories to this agreement. The pact aims at strengthening cooperation in trade and safety of buffalo meat, fish products and feed and feed ingredients and to meet safety, hygiene and quarantine requirements.

4. MoU between India's urban development ministry and China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on cooperation in sewage treatment. It was signed by India's Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and China's NDRC ministerf Xu Shaoshi.

5. MoU between India's water resources ministry and NDRC on cooperation in water-efficient irrigation. Ahluwalia and Shaoshi signed this agreement as well.

6. MoU between the external affairs ministry and China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) on cooperation in mutual translation and publication of works, both classic and contemporary. India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and SAPPRFT vice-minister Wu Shulin signed this agreement.

Under this, a Joint Working Group will coordinate translation and publication of 25 books of classic and contemporary works of each country over a period of five years into languages of China and India, respectively.

7. MoU between the water resources ministries of both countries for provision of hydrological information by China to india on the Yaluzangbu/Brahmaputra River during the flood season. India's water resources secretary Dr S K Sarkar and Shulin signed this agreement.

Under this agreement, China will provide information of water level, discharge and rainfall of 8.00 hours and 20.00 hours (Beijing time) twice a day from June 1 to october 15 every year, in respect to three hydrological stations of the mainstream Brahmaputra.

8. MoU between the foreign ministries of both countries to promote cooperation and linkages between the cities and states/provinces of the two countries. Indian Ambassador to China Dr S Jaishankar and Shulin signed the agreement. Both sides will identify sister cities and states/provinces in their countries to set up a relationship between them and promote people-to-people contacts.

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