DHAKA: Indian and Chinese firms signed 21 agreements which officials said were worth a total of more than US$22 billion in Shanghai on Saturday, witnessed by visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

‘Let us work together in mutual interests,’ Modi told executives from 200 Chinese and Indian companies at the signing ceremony. ‘Now India is ready for business.’

The nationalist leader was on the final day of a three-day trip to his fellow Asian giant, as the two jockey for regional influence and India’s trade deficit with China balloons.

Despite his hardline reputation, Modi has moved to engage with Beijing since his election last year, and he was looking for an economic boost from the trip, seeking to deliver on election promises for foreign investment, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1257 HRS, MAY 16, 2015
RR