Jaishankar lauds Indian community’s key role in shaping positive image in Australia

International

pti-PTI

Melbourne,
Feb
13:
External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
on
Sunday
met
the
Indian
community
here
and
appreciated
their
key
role
in
shaping
the
country’s
positive
image
in
Australia
and
in
the
new
phase
of
bilateral
ties.

Jaishankar
visited
Australia
from
February
10
to
13
in
his
first
trip
to
the
country
as
external
affairs
minister.
He
attended
the
4th
Quad
Foreign
Ministers’
Meeting
along
with
the
foreign
ministers
of
Australia,
Japan
and
the
United
States
on
Friday.
Jaishankar
appreciated
the
role
of
the
Indian
community
in
shaping
India’s
positive
image.

“So
appropriate
to
conclude
my
Melbourne
visit
meeting
the
Indian
community.
Their
role
in
shaping
India’s
positive
image
is
commendable.
Key
partners
in
this
new
phase
of
our
ties,”
Jaishankar
tweeted.

Melbourne
has
a
vibrant
Indian
community
with
Indian-born
migrants
making
up
3
per
cent
of
the
city’s
total
population.
Since
2001,
the
number
of
Indian-born
migrants
in
Melbourne
has
more
than
tripled.

On
Saturday,
India
and
Australia
pledged
to
work
together
for
building
more
trusted
and
resilient
supply
chains
and
ensuring
broad
and
inclusive
growth
in
the
strategic
Indo-Pacific
region.

At
a
joint
press
conference
with
his
Australian
counterpart
Marise
Payne
after
their
bilateral
meeting,
Jaishankar
said
he
spoke
at
length
with
Payne
about
regional,
multilateral
and
global
issues,
besides
discussing
developments
in
South
Asia,
Southeast
Asia
and
in
the
strategically
vital
Indo-Pacific
region.

Jaishankar
will
also
make
a
bilateral
visit
to
the
Philippines
from
Sunday.
This
will
be
his
first
visit
to
the
Philippines
as
external
affairs
minister.
He
will
hold
talks
with
his
counterpart,
Teodoro
L
Locsin,
Secretary
of
Foreign
Affairs
and
meet
with
the
political
leadership
in
the
Philippines.