By IANS,
New Delhi: India has informed Australia about its concerns over the safety and security of Indian students there, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said here Tuesday after his visit to that country.
Krishna was in Australia on a four-day trip, during which he met Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, and attended the Pacific Island Forum.
In a statement issued after his return, Krishna said he conveyed India’s “deep concerns about the safety and security of our students in Australia and impressed that measures need to be put into place to address their legitimate grievances so that our students get a good quality educational experience”.
He added he was sure the “Australian authorities are working” on this front.
There are about 97,000 Indian students studying in various educational institutions in Australia.
Krishna said India attached importance to its relations with Australia and was “committed to further strengthening and expanding our relations to cover virtually every area of interaction”.
“Both sides feel that significant further scope exists for expanding our trade as well as cooperation in areas such as science and technology, information and communication technology, energy, education, tourism and agro-industry,” he said.
Saying that India and Australia are looking to take their relations to a “strategic partnership”, Krishna noted they were “looking at the possibility of discussing a Free Trade Agreement which would further boost our ties”.
Krishna said India was looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Rudd and Foreign Minister Smith later this year.