Monday, April 11 2005 12:17 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Apr 11, 2006) held talks with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on a host of bilateral issues, including the vexed boundary question.

The talks were held in the backdrop of the two countries deciding to ink an agreement on political parameters and guiding principles of settlement of the Indo-China boundary issue.

Ahead of the talks, Wen said the two countries would lay a "bridge of friendship" and have a five-year plan for comprehensive cooperation in economy and trade to promote bilateral ties.

"This is a very important visit in the history of our relations and I am sure this visit will certainly continue to promote friendly ties and cooperation between our two countries," Wen, who is in New Delhi on a four-day visit, told reporters after being accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"We are going to agree on guiding principles of settlement of the India-China boundary question," Wen said.

"We are going to put in place a bridge of friendship linking our two countries, a bridge that will lead both of us to the future," said Wen who arrived in India on Saturday (Apr 9, 2005) and reached New Delhi yesterday (Apr 10, 2005) after a daylong stay in Bangalore.

The two countries, in an effort to resolve the boundary issue, have agreed on a three-tier process, comprising an accord on the guiding principles at the first stage, agreed framework in the second and actual delineation of the border in the third.

Wen, who is on his first visit to the country as Prime Minister, was received warmly by Singh at the Hyderabad House before the talks.

The two leaders first held restricted talks for an hour, which was followed by delegation-level parleys.