Toronto, June 25 (IANS) Playing host to China before India, Canada Thursday inked many deals with Beijing to broaden their strategic partnership.
With Ottawa according top priority to the rising Asian giants, Chinese President Hu Jintao began his state visit Thursday just before the twin – G-8 and G-20 – summits here.
‘This visit by President Hu confirms that the Canada-China strategic partnership is gaining momentum as we mark 40 years of diplomatic relations and chart a course for the future,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, welcoming the Chinese president.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrives here Friday, will also be hosted by the Canadian prime minister June 27 when the two leaders sign the crucial nuclear deal and other agreements.
As Canada mounts the biggest-ever post-9/11 security operation, world leaders have started descending here for the summits. South African President Jacob Zuma and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan are already in town for the G-20 summit.
Before they come down to Toronto for the G-20 summit, leaders from the top industrialized nations – the US, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Japan and Russia – will meet in the resort of Huntsville, 320 km up north from Toronto, for the G-8 summit Friday and Saturday.
Apart from the global economic crisis, G-8 leaders hold discussions on Iran, peace, security, and global poverty to formulate their response. When G-8 leaders joins other world leaders for the G-20 summit in Toronto, economic issues will dominate their agenda.
With India and China leading the world out of the economic crisis, the leaders will listen raptly to speeches of President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
With the US reaching a crucial stage in its confrontation with Iran on the nuclear issue, President Barack Obama will press the grouping for tougher action against Teheran.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
