Joint doorstop with Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vyalar Ravi
Topics: Australia-India relations
Transcript, E&OE
4 March 2010
Minister Ravi: Friends, we, Excellency Foreign Minister Mr Smith and I, had a very good discussion, fruitful discussions and dialogue, on several issues but mainly on the students' issue. He has given the assurance that whatever steps have been taken, those will be strengthened further to protect Indian students.
The Federal and State Governments together are taking steps for protecting students and they will continue to do that. He assured me again that whatever the Government can do, will be done, and that they have already started taking several steps, and strengthening them further. That is mainly the outcome of the dialogue.
Now for Minister Smith to say something.
Minister Smith: Minister, thank you very much. Firstly, I wanted to say publically what I said to the Minister privately, which was we were very concerned when he had his very serious accident recently. We are very pleased that he escaped in what was miraculous circumstances. We are very pleased to see him firmly back on the way to fully resuming his Parliamentary and Ministerial duties. So we are very pleased to be able to relay our concerns to you.
Secondly, we had a very good conversation. I have had a very productive round of meetings in India, in New Delhi, particularly this morning when I had the honour of calling upon the Prime Minister to have a conversation about the Australia-India Strategic Partnership, preparations for the Commonwealth Games and also the Indian students' issue.
I have been very pleased with the way in which now I think there is a much greater understanding of the efforts that the Australian Government and State Governments have made in Australia to minimise the risk to Indian students and other students from overseas studying in Australia.
Again, as I have said in Australia and in India, we condemn any attack on an individual student. We particularly find contemptible any attack which has racial or racist overtones associated with it and we have no tolerance for such conduct. It does not reflect the modern Australia which is a tolerant, multi cultural society.
In my discussions with the Prime Minister, we remarked on the values that Australia and India share. We are both Parliamentary democracies, we both respect the rule of law, we both respect individual human rights and freedoms and we both, as countries, operate throughout the world respecting international norms and conducting ourselves in a peaceful and peaceable way. So, these attacks we find contemptible.
More generally, the Minister and I spoke about the wider Australia-India relationship, the strategic partnership and the things that Australia and India can do together. In the Minister's area of responsibility, we spoke about the desirability of Australia and India striking up a social security agreement and we are working very hard on this.
This of course is of advantage to the Indian diaspora and currently in Australia we have between 400,000 and 500,000 people of Indian origin or Indian descent. They are a substantial part of the Australian community, and they make a substantial economic, social, cultural and sporting contribution. So the striking up of the social security agreement between Australia and India would be a very good thing, and the minister and I are very keen to see that progress. Thank you.
Minister Ravi: As you know that we have signed some five agreements — social security agreements — with some European countries. That is to give protection to workers, people, and professionals going there. We discussed a similar sort of thing today (inaudible) I hope it can be done at the earliest. This is one of the major decisions that has come out in today's meeting between me and the Honourable Minister. Now there is a very good sign.
[ENDS]
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