New Delhi, November 11: Economic and trade ties, besides the issue of racial attacks on Indian students are expected to figure prominently during meetings between Indian leaders and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who arrived in India on Wednesday.
“Safety and security of Indian students and people of Indian origin is of highest importance… unfortunately the attacks have recurred and in the last week or so,” MEA spokesman Vishnu Prakash said while briefing the reporters on the visit of Rudd.
“These attacks are a matter of concern,” he said when asked if the racial attacks would come up for discussion during the meetings.
Prakash said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had taken up the issue at the highest level in Australia and the government was keeping a close watch on the situation.
“Australian authorities have promised us that they will follow a policy of zero tolerance against such attacks and they have initiated measures such as better police presence, better coordination and more patrolling,” Prakash added.
The MEA spokesperson said the Australian Government needed to take effective steps and look at means to ensure that such attacks do not happen again.
On the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, Prakash said, “We have constituted a Joint Study Group to study the feasibility of concluding a FTA between India and Australia.”
—Agencies