The violence against the Indian students in Australia will be the focus of discussions between the visiting Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith with his Indian counterpart, Mr. S.M. Krishna tomorrow.<br/><br/>The spokesman of External Affairs Ministry, Vishnu Prakash told reporters in New Delhi that this is a major cause of concern for India. The Australian Foreign Minister will be briefing Mr. S.M. Krishna on the action taken by his government to ensure safety and security of students and other Indians living there.<br/><br/>Mr. Smith had admitted that the attacks had some racial overtones and made it clear that there will be zero tolerance against fresh incidents of violence. The spokesman added that Australia has already taken a number of measures to stop violence against Indian students.<br/><br/>The spokesman said that the whole gamut of India-Australia relations will come up for discussion in the meeting. AIR correspondent adds there have been a series of visits to India by the top Australian leaders including the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd to allay concerns of Indians students studying there.<br/><br/>The security of Commonwealth Games will also come up for discussions in the meeting. Cooperation in the areas of energy, particularly hydro-power and space will also figure in the discussions between the two foreign ministers.<br/><br/>The three day visit of the Australian Foreign Minister began with discussions with the Commerce Minister, Mr. Anand Sharma to give further impetus to the growing economic relations between the two countries. The two ministers are expected to discuss the progress in the feasibility study undertaken to explore possibilities of Free Trade Area Agreement between India and Australia.<br/><br/>Mr. Smith will also hold discussions with the Human Resources Development Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal to enhance cooperation in the field of education. He will be joined by Mr. Kapil Sibal to watch India-Australia hockey match later tonight. The tie has been described as a friendship match.<br/><br/>AIR correspondent Vijay Raina reports that though Australia has taken a series of measures to ensure safety and security of Indian students, the continuing violence against them is a major cause of concern. <br/><br/>Mr. Smith had earlier admitted that the attacks had some racial overtones and there will be zero tolerance against fresh incidents of violence. In his delegation level talks with Mr. S.M. Krishna, the whole gamut of India-Australia relations will come up for discussion in the meeting, including issues of mutual importance. <br/><br/>The security of Commonwealth Games may also figure in the discussions. Cooperation in the areas of energy, particularly hydro-power and space will also be discussed. <br/><br/>With economic partnership between the two countries on a growth path, it is expected that the discussions between Mr. Smith with Indian leaders will pave the way for fool-proof security of our students there and widen and deepn the bilateral strategic cooperation.
News On AIR | March 3, 2010 10:37 AM
Violence against Indian students to dominate India-Australia FM talks