Krishna to leave for Australia; no signs of his being replaced

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S MKrishna is proceeding with his Australia visit from tomorrow,notwithstanding media speculation that he might be one of theaffected ministers in the possible cabinet reshuffle.

Krishna is leaving tomorrow on a three-day visit for thethird round of the framework dialogue with his Australiancounterpart Kevin Rudd in Melbourne during which the twoleaders will take stock of bilateral ties in key spheres,including, security, energy and economic cooperation.

His visit comes amidst media speculation that he could beone of the senior ministers to be affected by the possiblecabinet reshuffle later this week. However, his going aheadwith his travel plans, which would have received permissionfrom the Prime Minister, signifies that he might not be one ofthe affected parties in the possible reshuffle.

During the bilateral meeting, the two sides are expectedto discuss a host of bilateral, regional and global issues,including closer collaboration on security issues in Asia andin multilateral economic groupings like G20.

Apart from discussing ways to further cooperation betweenthe two countries in business and trade, Krishna would alsolike to know about the steps taken by the Australiangovernment to prevent attacks against Indian students.

Krishna is also likely to call on Australian PrimeMinister Julia Gillard.