china seek a greater role in the world it may be reforms in the united nations security council or the new asian infrastructure investment bank but asias voice will be stronger and our nations role more influential if india and china speak in one voice for all of us and for each other simply put the prospects of the 21st century becoming the asian century will depend in large measure on what india and china achieve individually and what we do together the rising fortunes of 25 billion pairs of joined hands will be of the greatest consequence for our region and the humanity this is the vision that i share with president xi and premier li this is the impulse that is driving our relationship in recent years we have deepened our political engagement we have kept our borders peaceful we have managed our differences and not allowed them to impede closer cooperation we have enhanced our cooperation across the full spectrum of our relationship yet if we have to realise the extraordinary potential of our partnership we must also address the issues that lead to hesitation and doubts even distrust in our relationship first we must try to settle the boundary question quickly we both recognise that this is historys legacy resolving it is our shared responsibility to the future we must move ahead with new purpose and determination the solution we choose should do more than settle the boundary question it should do so in a manner that transforms our relationship and not cause new disruptions we have been remarkably successful in maintaining peace and tranquility along the border we must continue to do that on the principle of mutual and equal security our agreements protocols and border mechanisms have been helpful but a shadow of uncertainty always hangs over the sensitive areas of the border region it is because neither side knows where the line of actual control is in these areas that is why i have proposed resuming the process of clarifying it we can do this without prejudice to our position on the boundary question we should think of creative solutions to issues that have become irritants from visa policies to transborder rivers sometimes small steps can have a deep impact on how our people see each other we are both increasing our engagement in our shared neighbourhood this calls for deeper strategic communication to build mutual trust and confidence we must ensure that our relationships with other countries do not become a source of concern for each other and wherever possible and feasible we should work together as we did in responding to the earthquake in nepal if the last century was the age of alliances this is an era of interdependence so talks of alliances against one another have no foundation in any case we are both ancient civilizations large and independent nations neither of us can be contained or become part of anyones plans so our partnership in international