BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Indian Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said here Monday that India and China have a good time to strengthen cooperation in the field of science and technology sector.

Sibal, also India's Minister of Ocean Development, said in an interview with Xinhua that the 2006 India-China Friendship Year is the best time for the two countries to conduct cooperation.

India and China have a lot to learn from each other. The Chinese have very strong strength in hardware production and the Indians have strength in software production.

Sibal said there is not so much competition between India and China because the two nations have adopted different strategies. One is more home consumption driven and the other is more export-oriented.

He said China and India in total have almost one-third of the world's population, If working and managing their resources together, the two can actually lead the world community in many areas, even in the science and technology.

Sibal is on a six-day visit to China. He has signed a memorandum of understanding on science and technology cooperation with his Chinese counterpart Xu Guanhua. Enditem