Sunday, April 10 2005 18:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today (Apr 10, 2005) said his country would send 100 students to software powerhouse based in Bangalore, Infosys Technologies, for training in information technology.

"We have already agreed to send 100 students for training in information technology to Infosys," Wen said during his interaction with Heads of leading scientific institutions in Bangalore at the Indian Institute of Science.

It wasn't clear whether a similar number of students would be trained at the NASDAQ-listed company on an annual basis. China has long harboured ambition to become a global leader in software sector, like it already is in hardware.

Wen laid a lot of stress on the need for India and China to come closer in the areas of science and technology. "Science and technology can be a very effective bridge," he said.

The Chinese Premier suggested forming a joint steering committee to guide bilateral cooperation in science and technology, and called for promotion of collaboration at the level of institutions in the two countries and more student and faculty exchange.

He said China is very keen to manufacture large passenger planes, noting that it already is building fighter aircraft and small planes.

Senior officials of the Raman Research Institute and Indian Institute of Astrophysics said that Indian astronomy community is keen to have interaction with their Chinese counterparts, especially in the optical and radio astronomy space.