Australia has assured India that the visa backlog of its students studying in Australian universities will be cleared by the end of this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Indian students are facing problems in returning to their educational institutions in Australia post-Corona pandemic.
Giving this information in Sydney late Tuesday, Jaishankar said the authorities assured him the situation has improved and about 77,000 Indian students are back in Australia.
"But you all know that the numbers should be and could be much higher and I was assured that by the end of the year the visa backlog, particularly in respect to students, would be cleared," he said during an interaction with the Indian community.
Elaborating upon the issue, Jaishankar said he took up the visa backlog matter with different ministers when he was in Canberra adding “We have a particular problem that students are facing."Noting the concerns of Indians, he also said "It's not just students because there's a community there are also family reasons for people to travel. I think there's an appreciation today of the importance of resuming tourism in a big way."
The minister expressed hope that this is "one of the big disruptions of the Covid era that we will be able to put behind us in the coming year." The Indian community in Australia continues to grow in size and importance, with the population of about seven hundred thousand. India is one of the top sources of skilled immigrants to Australia. Approximately 105,000 students presently study in Australian universities.
After the UK, India is the second largest migrant group in Australia in 2020. Jaishankar said two issues — partnership on mobility and mutual recognition degrees and qualifications—— would be transformational for the bilateral relationship.
Partnership on mobility "means that Indian skills and talents that are in demand in Australia will have a legal framework, an agreed methodology by which they move from one country to another," he said.
Now, India is reaching such agreements with a lot of countries like Japan, the UK and France and is close to concluding one such pact with Germany. He said there was also an interest reiterated during his visit for Australia to open a consulate in Bengaluru.
Touching upon the issue of impact of the pandemic on India, Jaishankar said the country is "is today very strongly on a recovery path," adding
"every country in the world has gone through a tough time in the last three years. You know there is no country, not one which has not been deeply affected by Covid.”
On ties between the two countries, the minister said Australia is an important partner for India in terms of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and working together ensures that this region remains free, open, stable and prosperous.