The first structured and sixth trilateral conference between India, Russia, and China ended in New Delhi with an emphasis on cooperation rather than confrontation should govern approaches to regional and global affairs." The nations also discussed ways to deal with global terrorism, drug trafficking, West Asia conflict resolution, North Korea, situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and trilateral ties in the areas of energy, technology and economic relations.
Apparently, the Iranian nuclear issue took central stage in the deliberation between External Affairs Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. In a press conference at the end of their meeting, they all agreed in a joint press conference that "that Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue and negotiations." Mukherjee had just returned from Tehran and called for a central role for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The three nations also averred that the trilateral cooperation was not directed against the interest of any country. They expressed their "conviction that democratisation of international relations is the key to building an increasingly multi-polar world order that would be based on the principle of equality of nations - big or small, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, international law and mutual respect." They proposed that the United Nations was "an appropriate instrument" to promote a multi-polar world order but also asked member-states to make the world body more transparent, efficient and reflective of contemporary realities. Significantly, the joint communiqué said that "the Foreign Ministers of Russia and China indicated that their countries attached great importance to the status of India in international affairs, and understand and support India's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations" where for the first time China has openly supported a larger role for India in the UN.
To further these ideas, India has proposed to host a trilateral seminar in 2007
on "emerging geo-strategic trends" including "energy, biotechnology and public
health" with the participation of officials and scholars.
They also agreed that there was great potential to cooperate on energy,
transportation, infrastructure, health, high technologies including information
technology and biotechnology. All three Ministers swore against installing
weapons or targeting weapons against space assets. Acknowledging their "growing
international influence" individually, the three leaders said together they "can
make positive contributions to global peace, security, and stability."
The trilateral idea was first mooted by Russia in 1996 for a three-way consultation among the Asian powers. Since then, the foreign ministers had met once in Vladivostok, Russia, in June 2005 and now in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao also held a first trilateral summit meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia last July. The next trilateral meeting of foreign ministers will be held in China.
