南京夜网,南京性息论坛  Powered by Sbgn!Strong statement starts effort to mend Indian relationshipby: admin - November 6th, 2018  Filed under:  南京夜网NEW DELHI: Kevin Rudd has vented his disgust at attacks on Indian students in a major foreign policy speech in which he acknowledged the relationship between Australia and India was nowhere near as strong as it should be.On his first trip to India as Prime Minister, Mr Rudd told the Indian Council for World Affairs last night that India was emerging as a significant global power which, alongside China, would ”shape the pattern of history in the 21st century”.In a series of overtures to New Delhi, Mr Rudd endorsed India’s push to become a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum and made assurances that his Government was doing all it could to stop attacks on Indian students which have caused outrage in India.”As Prime Minister of Australia, I am deeply disturbed and disgusted by attacks of violence against any foreign students studying in our country as our guests,” he said.”There have been criminal attacks targeting Indian students for the little money they earn to support their studies. They will not be tolerated.”Mr Rudd said he could not guarantee there would be no acts of violence but his Government was ”committed to doing its utmost to guarantee that the sons and daughters Indian parents entrust to the care of the Australian community remain safe and come home with a valuable education and wonderful memories”.Mr Rudd, however, did not budge on the other major irritant between the countries – Australia’s refusal to sell India uranium because it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”This is not a policy directed at India,” he said. ”It applies globally and it has since 1978 under different Australian governments. We have not sought to isolate India on critical nuclear policy concerns.”The Howard government had considered selling India uranium.Mr Rudd has been criticised for not paying enough attention to India. He said yesterday his Government and its predecessors had all failed to properly develop the relationship and it was time that changed.”For too long there has been a waxing and waning interest between our two countries. We keep rediscovering each other only to then lose our way. The period of fits and starts is over.”Mr Rudd signalled the two countries would forge ahead with a free trade agreement and he envisaged India as a critical player in his vision for an Asia-Pacific Community.Whereas APEC is an economic forum, Mr Rudd says the region needs a body with the capacity for a security dialogue so tensions could be eased and conflicts avoided.He repeated yesterday the potential for regional conflict over resources, pollution, climate change, people smuggling and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.India and Australia, both peaceful democracies, ”should