External Affairs Minster S M Krishna met his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd in Melbourne today. Krishna again made a strong pitch to lift ban on uranium sale to India insisting that nuclear power is necessary for energy starved developing countries.Krishna attended the seventh round of ministerial dialogue with Rudd. He was accompanied by Vijaya Latha Reddy, Secretary (East) and Indian High Commissioner to Australia Sujatha Singh. Rudd was accompanied by Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Verghese and other top officials.Earlier, in a wide-ranging interview with 'The Age', he said, Climate change demands that we aim at clean energy. It has been accepted by experts that nuclear power is the cleanest power, and India is committed to pursue its nuclear power expansion.He also said despite India's test of an atomic weapon, the country could be trusted as a responsible nuclear power. Yesterday, Krishna held talks with Australia's Resource, Energy and Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson on uranium sales. Australia has one of the world's largest yellowcake deposits the fuel for nuclear reactors but refuses to export to countries that are not signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.Besides, Krishna said India hoped to reach a 10 per cent economic growth rate in the coming year and the resulting explosion of energy needs would be met by moving away from coal-fired power stations.In the interview, Krishna also backed the Victorian government and police response to violence against Indian students in the past year, despite a sharp drop in the number of Indians now studying in Australia. Krishna said India is growing economic, education and tourism ties with Australia were the springboard for a more mature and strategic partnership in the future. Krishna said the sharp drop in the number of Indian students in Australia was undoubtedly partly a result of racial violence directed at Indians, which at its height last year become a thorn in ties between the two nations. But he said tighter Australian restrictions on visa entry, a crackdown on dubious education colleges and the stronger Australian dollar were also factors leading to the decline. He also said, Pakistan is supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and providing a haven for extremists. Krishna, who was in Afghanistan 10 days ago, said India is under constant threat in the country, with its embassy regularly attacked. He said Pakistan continue s to support the Taliban as its ally and a solution to the conflict could only be found once Pakistan abandoned its patronage of the insurgents.