Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Attack on Indians high on Oz foreign minister's agenda

Safety of Indians living in Australia will be on top of the agenda when Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith holds talks with the Indian leadership during his three-day visit.

Mr Smith’s visit, the latest in a string of high-level visits from Australia, will focus on updating the Indian leadership about the steps taken by Canberra for the security of Indian nationals. This is an issue that has risen to the top of the bilateral agenda in the face of continuing attacks on Indian nationals.

Mr Smith, who arrived on Tuesday, will hold discussions with external affairs minister S M Krishna on Wednesday on all issues, including “safety, security and well-being of Indians, which is a serious cause of concern,” MEA spokesman Vishnu Prakash said. He pointed out that the issue had been taken up at every level with the Australian government.

The Indian community in Australia is close to half a million. There are 1,20,000 Indian students in Australia, out of which 47,600 study in Victoria which has seen a large number of attacks. New Delhi is satisfied with the steps taken by Canberra, which includes the setting up of a high-level committee to probe the attacks. 

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Attack-on-Indians-high-on-Australian-foreign-ministers-agenda/articleshow/5635386.cms

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