Chinese premier Li Keqiang is received by Indian junior minister for external affairs, E Ahamed, left, after he arrives in New Delhi.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang is received by Indian junior minister for external affairs, E Ahamed, left, after he arrives in New Delhi.

Chinese premier arrives in India for talks



NEW DELHI // China's new prime minister arrived in India yesterday on the first stop of his maiden foreign trip, with recently renewed border tensions and bilateral trade at the top of the agenda.

Li Keqiang, in a statement quoted by China's Xinhua news agency, said his choice of India as first destination "indicates the great importance Beijing attaches to its relations" with New Delhi.

The Indian foreign ministry spokesman, Syed Akbaruddin, said exchanges were aimed at "enhancing trust" between the two countries, who fought a brief but bloody war in 1962 over conflict on the border.

The Asian giants have held 15 rounds of high-level talks but the dispute in the Himalayan region of Kashmir remains unresolved.

The border row again flared last month after India alleged that Chinese troops intruded nearly 20 kilometres into Indian-claimed territory, triggering a three-week stand-off.

Mr Akbaruddin said the Chinese premier would have a "restricted meeting" with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, before a state dinner.

Mr Li and Mr Singh will hold formal "delegation-level" talks today, which will be followed by some agreements, he said.

The talks today will also cover bilateral trade, another Indian foreign ministry official said, with India pressing for more access to the Chinese market.

Mr Li will also meet other Indian leaders including from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr Li will travel tomorrow to India's financial hub Mumbai, and then a day later to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.

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Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

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Favourite country: UAE

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Install an air filter in your home.

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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

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