London:
As India gets ready to host several international sporting events, the Australian government has said it is satisfied with efforts to ensure the safety of Australian athletes in India.
Referring to his meeting with Indian officials in New Delhi last year, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he was satisfied with efforts to ensure the safety of Australian athletes in India following threats by Al-Qaida-linked militants.
Addressing a press conference in London on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister said, "I was satisfied then and I am satisfied now that all of the necessary co-ordination and consultation continues to occur ...It is a very regrettable fact of the modern era that there are always security risks in major sporting events, whether they're conducted in Australia or whether they're conducted in India."
"When I was in India last year I spoke to the Indian authorities about planning for the Commonwealth Games and the security arrangements for that. I am satisfied that all the necessary coordination and consultation continues to occur. And of course, we are deeply interested in those arrangements," he added.
Smith also believed similar security measures were in place for this month's men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi.
So far as arrangements for the Commonwealth Games andfor the Hockey World Cup are concerned Smith said, "We are satisfied that all ofthe necessary consultations and coordination is occurring."
Pakistan-based terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri has threatened athletes ahead of the Commonwealth Games along with cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and hockey World Cup players.
After last Saturday's terror attack in Pune, the security advisor of Australia's Cricket Association started investigating the attack and was to submit a report to Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association within week. Since the players will not be representing their countries the authorities can only make recommendations to them. Currently, no foreign players have withdrawn from IPL 3.