Foreign minister S Jaishankar raises issue of Indians' safety with Australian PM

Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney and raised concerns regarding safety of Indian diaspora, especially students, in the backdrop of some Sikh extremist attacks in Melbourne, among other issues, people aware of the matter said.

While they talked about strategic partnership between the two countries and economic opportunities, Jaishankar is also understood to have raised the safety and security of Indians in Australia with Albanese.

In the last few months, the Indian Australian community has been targeted by the USA and Canada-based Khalistan separatist groups that vandalised or threatened five Hindu temples in Melbourne and Brisbane. These overseas actors have also been trying to recruit Australian Indian youths for their divisive agenda, people cited above said.


The Australian PM will visit India next month.

"Delighted to call on PM @AlboMP of Australia today morning in Kirribilli House in Sydney. Conveyed the personal greetings of PM @narendramodi. Our discussions reflected the full spirit of our strategic partnership. Apprised @AlboMP of recent developments in that regard," Jaishankar tweeted.

Albanese tweeted, "It was wonderful to meet with @DrSJaishankar this morning ahead of my trip to India next month. We discussed our strategic partnership, economic opportunities and the people-to-people ties that enrich our nations."

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar addressed Raisina@Sydney Business Breakfast and talked about the economy and Covid-19.

"India is targeting 7% growth this year, but we expect it to improve in the next five years. And definitely, we would stay in the 7-9% range at least for a decade and a half," Jaishankar said.

In today's global landscape, like-minded countries need to work together "to derisk economy" and rise to challenges of the digital world and build relationships that serve as stabilisers for the economy, he said. Jaishankar is on his third visit to Australia since February last year when he attended the Quad foreign ministers' meeting in Melbourne.