Krishna to raise safety of Indian students in Australia

The issue of the safety of Indian students in Australia, who have been target of frequent attacks in the country, will figure prominently during the upcoming visit of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Canberra.

"Certainly, the safety and well being of our students in Australia will figure in my talks with the Australian leadership," Krishna said on his way back from a four-day visit to Japan.

This will be the first high-level visit from New Delhi to Canberra since reports of attacks on Indian students in the country sparked public outrage in India.

The Minister noted that there is a large presence of Indian students in Australia.

"I am looking forward to my visit to Australia. We have a large presence of Indian students in Australia, which is next only to the US. This only shows how important Australia has become in our bilateral students exchange programmes. I am sure the student community would also be looking forward to my visit," he said.

There have been at least 20 attacks, many of them racist in nature, on Indian students in Australia in the past two months.