Around 100,000 Indians study in Australia, contributing around $2 billion to the host country.

The principal aim of her visit, Gillard stressed, was to reinforce Australia's image as 'a culturally diverse, welcoming and safe country for Indian students, business people and other visitors'.

In her meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Gillard is expected to highlight myriad initiatives the Australian government has undertaken to buttress security for around 100,000 Indians studying Down Under.

She is expected to highlight steps taken by Canberra to improve the education experience for overseas students in Australia, including tighter regulation of education providers, a review of the Australian government's legislation governing international students, and the coming International Students Round Table.

She will also launch several key initiatives involving Australian and Indian educational institutions and meet some Indian students who have studied in Australia.

Gillard's talks with Indian leaders here will set the stage for the visit of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd later this year.