Lack of dialogue between India, China has led to gaps: Indian envoy

Lack of dialogue between India and China has led to gaps that have been filled with "innuendos" while the talks "have not kept pace with the fast-paced developments of the last half-century", Indian Envoy Vijay Gokhale said on Saturday.

"We have seen that gaps in understanding due to lack of dialogue are quickly filled by innuendo. Yet, we have also seen in this very relationship that both sides have the wisdom and maturity to confront and solve problems whenever we have engaged each other in honest dialogue," he said at the 2nd India-China think tank meeting here.

"While we are neighbours and friends, dialogue among us has not quite kept pace with the fast-paced developments of the last half-century," he added.

The second India-China Think-Tanks Forum was organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The Indian delegation, led by ICWA Director-General Nalin Surie, had former Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha, Indian scholars, and experts from various institutes.

The thinks tanks from both the countries discussed various aspects of the bilateral relations.

"We have variety of reasons that require us to cooperate and collaborate other than enter into needless competition and rivalry," Surie said.

"We have differences. However, it is necessary to ensure that they do not become disputes but instead converted into opportunities for even greater cooperation.

"Our leaders are of the opinion that we need to address each other's concerns very seriously. We need to take heed of this in our think tank community also," Surie added, referring to the recent meet between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jingping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit at Astana in Kazakhstan.

Chinese Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou was also present in the forum.

CASS President Wang Weiguang, and China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations' (CICIR) Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies director Hu Shisheng also took part.

--IANS

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