Kuwait City: India on Thursday said it was
concerned about the safety of its students in Australia and
underlined the need to provide the "right kind of environment"
to allow them to pursue studies there.
Noting that Australian government has assured India that
they were taking adequate steps to ensure safety of Indian
students, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said,
"Government of India is closely monitoring the developments
(in Australia)."
"Between the Governments of Australia and India, we
should be able to see that the right kind of environment will
be available for students to pursue the purpose they have gone
for with single-minded contention," he told reporters here.
Referring to the high-level meetings between the two
countries, he said this is indicative of the fact that they
are coming closer.
"We also recognise that there is a large students`
community present in Australia in various cities pursuing
higher studies and skills and the Government of India is
concerned about their safety," he said.
Krishna noted that Australian Foreign Minister Stephen
Smith had said that their federal government and two state
governments of that country had formed a high-level committee
to address the concerns of Indian students.
"I hope that the high-level committee has met and will
continue to monitor developments as and when they occur in
Australia," he said.
Krishna, who recently met his Australian counterpart
Smith in London on the margins of a global conference on
Afghanistan, said he hoped that Canberra would continue to
take such steps.
PTI
