Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna signed on Tuesday a Joint Communique after holding the 9th meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries.

The following is the full text of the joint communique:

1. The Ninth Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Republic of India, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China was held on 27 October 2009 in Bengaluru (Bangalore).

2. The Ministers noted the ongoing trilateral cooperation between India, Russia and China and explored new avenues for deepening and strengthening this interaction on various issues for the benefit of the people of the three countries and peace and stability in the region.

3. Despite the impact of the international financial crisis, the pace of development of the three countries has improved contributing to faster growth among them. Enhanced engagement among them strengthens their influence on the process of democratization of international relations and development of multipolar world order reflecting the diversity of world cultures and civilizations.

4. While reviewing the implementation of the Trilateral initiatives, the Ministers noted with satisfaction the holding of the trilateral meeting of experts of India, Russia and China in the area of Disaster Mitigation and Relief held in Samara, Russia on 28 July 2008. The prospective areas of cooperation in this important area were identified as interaction between research institutes; exchange of experts and specialists; exchange of experience in practical response to major disasters; exchange of information between the National Disaster Management Authorities on major emergencies; training of instructors and specialists; and holding joint conferences and seminars. The next meeting of this group of experts is due to be held in China in 2009.

5. The Ministers welcomed the holding of the next meeting of the India-Russia-China trilateral expert group on agricultural cooperation, scheduled to be held in November or December 2009 in New Delhi.

6. The Ministers noted that according to the understanding arrived at in the first meeting of trilateral group of experts on Health and Medicine held in India in September 2008, the next meeting of the trilateral group of experts on Health and Medicine would be held in 2010 in Russia.

7. The Ministers reviewed the trilateral interaction among the business communities of the three countries and discussed the 2nd Trilateral Business Conference held on 17-19 September 2009 in Changchun, China. They noted that interaction among business communities was increasing and areas like pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, IT and energy have been the focus areas. The Ministers discussed ways in which the meetings of this forum could be more meaningful to the business communities in the time ahead so that new opportunities may be grasped to expand trade and investment. They looked forward to the next meeting in Russia.