Howard attacked for omitting India in speech

SYDNEY, SEPT. 5. The surprise omission of India by the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. John Howard, in a major foreign policy speech has come in for sharp criticism by opposition and political commentators who described it as ``embarrassing'' and ``shortsighted'', and ``his ignorance of importance of South Asia''.

The opposition Labour Party leader, Mr. Laurie Brereton, said Mr. Howard had no real interest in a relationship with India. ``Not to mention India even once in a major policy speech is a shortsighted and embarrassing omission. It completely undermines Mr. Howard's claims that his brief visit to New Delhi in July last year marked a new chapter in bilateral ties,'' Mr. Brereton, Shadow Foreign Minister, said.

However, a spokesperson of the Prime Minister's office said Australia had important links with many countries but not all were mentioned each time the Prime Minister made a 30-minute speech on foreign policy.

``The importance of Australia-India relations was underlined by the Prime Minister's visit to India last year. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month will provide a further opportunity to highlight the importance of Australia-India links during planned bilateral talks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee,'' the spokesperson said.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Chaudhry's chances of forming Govt. recede
Next     : Talks to stem violence may yield little