Shanghai: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on May 11 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Centre to enhance co-operation on World Trade Organisation (WTO)- related issues, which affect the interests of the two countries.

"Today's MoU is a reflection of the importance FICCI attaches to China," Chamber president R S Lodha said at the signing ceremony.

Lodha, currently leading a high-level FICCI trade delegation to China, said that the leading Indian apex business body's interests in fastest growing economy are not limited to WTO-related issues alone.

He noted that New Delhi has always stood up against the asymmetries and inequities of globalisation as well as the formidable tariff and non-tariff barriers encountered by countries like China and India.

Welcoming China's accession to the WTO in 2001, Lodha said that it would considerably improve the bargaining strength of the developing world and go a long way in achieving greater equity in the world trading order.

He said that under the MoU, the two sides would identify and articulate the convergence of the positions of India and China on a range of WTO-issues and also work to minimise the areas of divergence.

This, he said, would enable both sides to "effectively collaborate for ensuring that the correlation of forces in the multilateral trading order could safeguard our legitimate rights and interests".

Commenting on the MoU, chairman of the Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, Wang Zhan recalled his visit to India in December 2001 and the "candid and friendly" talks he had with FICCI officials.

"The signing of the MoU today is just to secure the meeting results into a written form, which will work as the foundation of co-operation between the two sides," Wang said.

Indian Ambassador to China Shivshankar Menon, who was present at the signing ceremony, said that the MoU represents yet another sign that India-China relations were moving steadily in the right direction and lauded the role played by businesses on the two sides.

PTI