Modi, Xi come face to face in Hamburg

Hamburg July 7 (IANS) Amidst the chill in ties Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday came face to face here at the BRICS leaders meeting in which the Indian leader offered full cooperation for the successful holding of the summit of the five-nation bloc in China later this year.The two leaders also complimented each other s nations roles in furthering the objectives of the grouping and the fight against terrorism.The two leaders are however not scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Beijing citing that the bilateral "atmosphere" is not good due to the face-off between their armies in Doklam region in the Sikkim sector. The two leaders had last met in the Kazakhstan capital last month during the SCO summit.Addressing the meeting Modi appreciated the momentum in BRICS under the chairmanship of President Xi and extended full cooperation and best wishes for the BRICS Xiamen Summit. Concluding the meeting immediately after Modi s remarks President Xi appreciated India s strong resolve against terrorism and the momentum in BRICS introduced under India s chairmanship and through the outcomes of the Goa Summit in 2016. He also appreciated India s success in economic and social development and wished India even bigger success. --IANSab/rn/vsc