Maintenance of peace in border areas important pre-requisite for development of ties: India to China

Maintenance of peace in border areas is an "important pre-requisite" for further development of India-China relations, New Delhi underlined this view today at a meeting on India-China border affairs.

In a statement, issued after the 11th round of the "Working Mechanism on Consultation & Coordination for India-China Border Affairs" (WMCC) here, the External Affairs Ministry also said various confidence building measures aimed at further enhancing the level of mutual trust and understanding among border personnel were discussed.

Asserting that discussions were held in a "friendly and cordial" atmosphere, the ministry said, "The two sides exchanged views on ways to improve border management. We underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas is an important pre-requisite for further development of bilateral relations."