'Aus overwhelmingly' safe for Indian students'

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday said there was no reduction in the number of Indian students seeking to study in her country in the wake of the recent attacks and claimed it remained "overwhelmingly safe" for them.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday said there was no reduction in the number of Indian students seeking to study in her country in the wake of the recent attacks and claimed it remained "overwhelmingly safe" for them.

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"Australia remained overwhelmingly safe and welcoming and any Indian visiting the country can expect a warm welcome," she told reporters in Chennai.

Replying to questions on the attacks on Indian students, she said like any other country in the world, instances of crime were present in Australia also but said the government had a "zero tolerance" policy towards such incidents.

Policing measures had been increased in Melbourne and Sydney from where the incidents were reported.

To a question, she said all international education institutions in the country had to re-register following a set of quality norms and this was being done to ensure the "highest level of quality and benchmark".

During her current visit to India, it has been decided to organise an annual ministerial level meeting which would broaden and deepen the "existing strong relationship in education and research," she said.