Premier Wen Jiabao left New Delhi Tuesday for Beijing after a "highly successful" four-day visit to India marked by the beginning of a strategic partnership between the two Asian giants.  

As a sign of growing cooperation between the two countries in the area of technology, Wen addressed students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Tuesday morning before returning with his 100-member entourage to his country.

The agreements on the border issue and the strategic partnership were announced following wide-ranging talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Wen in New Delhi Monday that culminated in the two sides signing a dozen pacts.

The pacts covered confidence-building measures along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the nearly 3,400-km ceasefire line, and steps to enhance economic and trade ties to take booming two-way trade from the current US$14 billion to US$30 billion by 2010.

"The two sides believed that Premier Wen Jiabao's highly successful state visit to the Republic of India marked a new level of India-China relationship and opened a new chapter in the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries," said the joint statement signed by the two sides.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran Monday hailed Wen's landmark India visit, saying: "It was an outstanding visit that drew the attention of the entire world. It was an extraordinarily successful visit."

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2005)