Safety of Indians in Australia to dominate Krishna-Smith talks

New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) Safety of Indians in Australia, a
matter of serious concern for India, will dominate Wednesday's
talks between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his
Australian counterpart Stephen Smith who arrived here Tuesday.
The issue of commonwealth security and ways to enhance
trade and investment ties will also figure in Smith's meetings
with other Indian ministers during his three-day visit here.
The visit starts amid a fresh incidents of violence
against Asians in Australia even as Smith, in his first
remarks after arrival here, assured Indians about steps taken
to ensure their security in his country.
"We have zero tolerance for assaults on any individual in
Australia. We have zero tolerance for assaults on Indians in
Australia...Regrettable, we know as I said to my Parliament
that there have been some racial or racist overtones to a
small number of those assaults and we condemn them
absolutely," Smith said.
Briefing reporters on the visit, External Affairs
Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said Krishna and Smith would
discuss entire gamut of the bilateral relationship including
"safety, security and well-being of Indians, which is a
serious cause of concern."
He said the issues had been taken up at every level with
Australian government with India stressing that the steps need
to be "effective". Prakash also noted that Australia has taken
a "slew of measures" to address the issue.
Prior to his departure, Smith said he will also brief the
Indian government on Australia's recently announced
Counter-Terrorism White Paper. Asked specifically about the
Paper, Prakash only said the two countries share a "similar
outlook" on the issue.
The assaults on Indian students had started in May last
year and since then over 100 Indians have been victim of
attacks, putting bilateral ties under stress.
"Krishna and I will discuss Australia's and India's close
cooperation in trying to solve the recent problems faced by
some Indians in Australia," Smith has said.
The two leaders had met in London last year when the
Australian leader had provided Krishna with extensive dossiers
containing information about the steps taken by Australia to
ensure safety and security of Indians.
There have been a series of visits to India by top
Australian leaders, including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and
his deputy Julia Gillard, to allay concerns in the wake of
assaults on Indian students that are suspected by many in
India to be racist in nature.
There are about 1.2 lakh students, out of nearly five
lakh Indians in Australia, according to official data.
During his meeting with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal,
Smith will brief him on the actions taken by authorities to
create a safe and rewarding study environment for Indian
students in Australia.
Smith's official engagements here starts with a meeting
with Commerce Minister Anand Sharma during which the two are
expected to discuss economic relations and status of a
feasibility study undertaken to explore the possibilities of a
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Australia.
Smith will also watch Australia and India play a
Hockey World Cup match later tonight that the two sides have
designated as a "Friendship Match". PTI PYK
DEP