Need for rebuilding Indo-Australia education ties: Peter Varghese

Describing attacks on Indian students in his country as a distressing issue, Australian high commissioner to India Peter Varghese today stressed the need for rebuilding the education relationship between the two nations.
    
"It (the attacks) has been a distressing issue for Australia. We are dealing with a complicated issue of law and order... we should re-build our education relationship, which could serve the Indian students and also further improve the bilateral relations between both the countries", he said at the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce's 20th annual day.
    
He said there were about one lakh India students studying in Australia and their primary intention was to work rather than studying due to financial pressure.
    
More than 60,000 of them had taken educational loan. Hence the intention of most of the students was to work and they take up part-time late night jobs, which was risky, he said.
    
On the trade aspects between the countries, he said last year the trade growth was about 55 per cent. Once the Free Trade Agreement was finalised, the volume would increase further, he said.
    
Earlier, Varghese called on Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi at the Secretariat and discussed about improving economic ties between the state and Australia, an official release said here.
    
Speaking to the reporters after the meeting, he said Australia was taking firm steps to end attacks on Indian students.