Updated on Thursday, September 07, 2006, 00:00 IST

Beijing, Sept 07: Taking forward bilateral cooperation, India and China today signed a memorandum of understanding that would help strengthen ties between the two neighbours in the field of science and technology and propel their fast-growing economies.

The Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal and his Chinese counterpart Xu Guanhua signed the MoU after they held talks here.

The bilateral MoU is also part of activities marking the 'India-China Friendship Year 2006'.

Sibal, who arrived here on his first official visit to China, said he would explore possibilities to enhance bilateral interactions to strengthen cooperation in the scientific field between the two neighbouring countries.

Apart from bilateral meetings, Sibal will also visit the National Centre for Nanoscience and Technology, National Satellite Meteorological Centre and Beijing Genomics Institute.

Indo-Chinese cooperation in the science and technology field is presently being implemented under an inter-governmental S&T agreement signed between the two countries in Beijing during the visit of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.

An Indo-China joint S&T committee is in place which regularly draws up specific programmes of cooperative activities in this field. Besides this, separate arrangements are also in place at inter-agency levels to promote thematic areas including meteorology, ocean science and technology, space science and technology, biotechnology.

Bureau Report