By IRNA,
New Delhi : Visiting Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, on Thursday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and apprised him of steps being taken by his government to contain attacks on Indians.
“I had the honour of calling upon the Prime Minister to have a conversation about the Australia-India strategic partnership, preparation for the Commonwealth Games and also the Indian students’ issue,” Smith said.
“In my discussion with Singh, he remarked on the values Australia and India share. We both are parliamentary democracies, we both respect rule of law, we both respect individual human rights and freedom and we both as countries operate throughout the world respecting international norms conducting ourselves in a peaceful way,” he said.
Smith was talking to reporters after his meeting with Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.
Smith, who held meetings with Union Ministers S M Krishna, Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram in the past two days, said he had a “very productive round of meetings with the Indian leaders”.
During his three-day visit to India, Smith acknowledged that some attacks on Indians in Australia had racial overtones but stressed that Australia has zero tolerance for this.
Following the spate of attacks on Indians, particularly students, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, his deputy and Education Minister Julia Gillard and Victorian Premier John Brumby have visited India to allay concerns.