External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday stated that he has urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to take a sympathetic view on the difficulties confronted by Indian college students, who had been impacted in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jaishankar, who’s right here on his first go to to New Zealand because the External Affairs Minister, stated this whereas interacting with the Indian group in the course of the inauguration of the brand new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington.
In respect of Indian college students right here, he stated that they’ve had powerful occasions throughout COVID.
“None of us had an easy time during COVID. But students perhaps took a bigger hit than most of us. So, I urged the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to take a sympathetic view and understanding of students who enter and I was glad to be assured that they would approach the issue sympathetically,” Jaishankar stated.
Jaishankar stated he hopes to see some progress on this subject.
India is the second largest supply of worldwide college students in New Zealand pursuing larger training in varied disciplines similar to data expertise, hospitality, science, engineering and structure.
On Thursday, Jaishankar additionally raised the visa subject when he met his New Zealand counterpart Mahuta to hasten up the visa course of for Indian college students ready to come back to this nation for his or her research and likewise sought a “fairer and more sympathetic treatment” in direction of those that have been impacted by the pandemic.
He additionally touched upon the subject of direct air connectivity between India and New Zealand and stated that it is going to be taken care of.
“Believe me, one trip to New Zealand, and I understand why you need this,” he stated.
New Zealand has roughly 2,50,000 individuals of Indian origin and NRIs, a overwhelming majority of which have made the nation their everlasting dwelling.
Jaishankar additionally visited the Te Papa museum exhibition on Sunday in Wellington commemorating the Gallipoli marketing campaign.
After New Zealand, the External Affairs Minister will go to Canberra and Sydney which will likely be his second go to to Australia this yr.
