India, China agree deals on rice, river as relations continue to thaw
China says it will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and amend some requirements on Indian rice exports
China and India on Saturday settled a dispute over the flood-prone Brahmaputra river that flows from Tibet to Bangladesh in a sign of growing cooperation between the two countries.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an agreement as they began the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
“Our talks will add further vigour to the India-China friendship,” Modi said on Twitter, as the two countries try to reset troubled ties after last summer’s months-long border stand-off.
The SCO was launched in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan mainly to combat radical Islam and other security concerns across Central Asia. Traditional rivals India and Pakistan joined last year.
Under two deals signed on the sidelines of the summit, China will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and amend certain requirements on Indian exports of rice other than the premium Basmati variety to China, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said on Twitter.
