Hotline between Dr Singh, Wen operational

The much-awaited hotline between the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao finally became operational on Thursday, thereby setting up a direct communication between the leaders.

Noting that it was made operational three-four days ago, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said, "Such personal interactions are very important part of diplomacy particularly between countries like Indian and China who are driving many changes in the global order today."

She said, "Our technical people have been working on it for some time."

Referring to the setting up of the hotline, the joint statement, issued after the talks between Dr Singh and Wen, said the two sides agreed on regular consultations between the two leaders on issues of importance to both countries.