India seeks right kind of environment for its students in Australia

Noting that Australian government has assured India that they were taking adequate steps to ensure safety of Indian students, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, ''Government of India is closely monitoring the developments (in Australia).''

"Between the Governments of Australia and India, we should be able to see that the right kind of environment will be available for students to pursue the purpose they have gone for with single-minded contention," he told reporters here.

Referring to the high-level meetings between the two countries, he said this is indicative of the fact that they are coming closer.

"We also recognise that there is a large students' community present in Australia in various cities pursuing higher studies and skills and the Government of India is concerned about their safety," he said.

Krishna noted that Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith had said that their federal government and two state governments of that country had formed a high-level committee to address the concerns of Indian students.

"I hope that the high-level committee has met and will continue to monitor developments as and when they occur in Australia," he said.

Krishna, who recently met his Australian counterpart Smith in London on the margins of a global conference on Afghanistan, said he hoped that Canberra would continue to take such steps.