Kolkata, Sept 10 (ZEENEWS.COM) Describing 2006 as the year of Sino-Indian friendship, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said it was imperative that both countries constantly engage with each other to carry their relationship forward and take advantage of the globalised world.

''Both are on the threshold of becoming economic superpowers. China is growing fast and India's economic growth is also highly promising. It is imperative that there is constant engagement between the two countries to take advantage of the globalised scenario,'' Mukherjee told a seminar here on 'India and China: The Next Decade.'

Stating that both India and China were poised to play a defining role in the world's political arena, Mukherjee said that as the two largest neighbours in Asia, they have a major role in ensuring peace and stability in the region.

Although Sino-Indian relations over the past five decades had not been strong, it should not be seen as an insurmountable challenge in carrying the relationship forward, he said.

''During my recent visit to china, the Chinese Premier pointed out that since the last 2,000 years, relations between the two countries had been peaceful for 99.99 per cent of the time,'' the Defence Minister said.

While the history of Europe was fraught with wars, it was able to forge an union in less than 50 years. ''This should be a lesson for Asia. As geographies become irrelevant with the advance of information technology, it has become imperative to create such collaborative strides and not exploit mutual differences,'' he said.

The seminar was organised by Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the University of Calcutta.