External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that he has urged Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand Prime Minister and Nanaia Mahuta, Foreign Minister to take a sympathetic view on the difficulties faced by COVID-19 pandemic affected Indian students, an official statement said.
Jaishankar on his first visit to New Zealand as the External Affairs Minister said this, while interacting with the Indian community during the inauguration of the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington.
In light of Indian students here, he said that they have had tough times during 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,” the minister said.
Jaishankar further added that India is the second largest source of international students in New Zealand pursuing higher education in various disciplines such as information technology, hospitality, science, engineering and architecture.
Furthermore, Jaishankar raised the visa issue when he met his New Zealand counterpart Mahuta to hasten up the visa process for Indian students waiting to come to this country for their studies and also sought a “fairer and more sympathetic treatment” towards those who have been impacted by the pandemic.
With inputs from PTI.
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