PM doing everything to maintain friendly ties with neighbours: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intention to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Wuhan, China, for a two-day informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that is expected to give a new direction to bilateral ties.

"It is not just China, we want to be friendly with every neighbouring country. Our Prime Minister has been doing everything he can so that our relationship with our neighbours become better," Singh said.

Modi arrived in Wuhan on Friday for delegation-level talks with President Xi. The summit is expected to defuse tensions between India and China post the Doklam stand-off.

Friday started off with both holding a one-on-one talks after which they visited an exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum.

Thereafter both held delegation-level talks, accompanied by six top officials each, at the East Lake Guesthouse, where President Xi is residing. The meeting, which was originally scheduled for half-an-hour, went on for more than two hours.

At the meeting, Modi asserted that China and India have set the pace for the world economy over the last 1,600 years, while also stressing on the importance of India and China working together "to successfully get the world rid of many problems."

The Chinese President later hosted a dinner for Prime Minister Modi, at which Chinese cuisine was served.

Last year, a military stand-off in the Doklam region was resolved after 73 days. Both sides arrived at an understanding then to disengage.