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Jan. 13-15, 2008: Manmohan Singh makes his first visit to China as Indian prime minister and meets President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiaboa among other leaders. Feb. 26-27, 2008: U.S., Secretary of Defense Robert Gates travels to India for discussions about military cooperation. April 4-9, 2008: Gen. Maung Aye, Myanmar’s second most senior military leader and army chief, makes a state visit to India and meets all of the country’s top leadership. April 24, 2008: The sixth U.S.-India Global Issues Forum is held in New Delhi. The Forum develops new and expanded areas for cooperation between the two countries on multilateral issues such as the promotion of democracy, health, environmental protection, and human rights. May 13, 2008: Eight bomb explosions kill nearly 70 and injure over a 100 persons in the center of Jaipur City, a popular tourist destination. May 15-16, 2008: Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee attends the fourth stand-alone trilateral meeting of foreign ministers from India, Russia, and China (RIC) in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. This is to be followed by a meeting of the foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) on May 16. June 4-7, 2008: Prime Minister Mukherjee visits Beijing for talks with Chinese officials – the first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to China since 2002. July 22, 2008: The Congress Party-led coalition government survives a vote of confidence brought after left-wing parties withdraw their support over a controversial nuclear cooperation deal with U.S. July 26, 2008: Sixteen bombs explode in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing at least 56 people and injuring 150. Aug. 1, 2008: The IAEA approves an India-specific Safeguards Agreement. Sept. 6, 2008: The Nuclear Suppliers Group agrees to provide an exemption that permits its member states to engage in civil nuclear cooperation with India. Sep. 7-10, 2008: India’s Defense Minister A. K. Antony meets Secretary of Defense Gates and other officials in Washington. Sep. 18, 2008: The 12th round of India-China border dispute talks are held in Beijing. India-U.S. and India-East Asia relations 147 January 2009 India-U.S. and India-East Asia relations 148 January 2009 Sep. 27, 2008: The U.S. House of Representatives approves the U.S.-India Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (123 Agreement). Oct. 1, 2008: The Senate approves the U.S.-India Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (123 Agreement). Oct. 3-5, 2008: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travels to India for consultations with Indian officials. This is her first visit to India since March 2006. Oct. 8, 2008: President Bush signs into law the nuclear deal with India. Oct. 15-24, 2008: Malabar 2008, a bilateral U.S.-Indian naval exercise is conducted off India’s west coast. Oct. 21-23, 2008: Prime Minister Singh makes an official visit to Japan. Oct. 30, 2008: More than 80 people are killed in Assam in northeastern India. Indian officials suspect separatists in the region and Muslim extremist groups. Nov. 26-28, 2008: About 200 people are killed and hundreds injured in a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen on the main tourist and business area of India's financial capital Mumbai. Dec. 15, 2008: India announces a “pause” in the peace process with Pakistan. Dec. 30, 2008: External Affairs Minister Mukherjee announces that India and China will have more rounds of border dispute talks without specifying any timeframe