Australian PM postpones scheduled visit to India amid bushfire crisis

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has postponed his scheduled visit to India and Japan amid the ongoing bushfire crisis in his country, Australian PM office said on Saturday.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has postponed his scheduled visit to India and Japan amid the ongoing bushfire crisis in his country, Australian PM office said on Saturday. In a statement, the Australian PM office said that it looks forward to rescheduling the visits to the two countries at a mutually convenient time in the coming months.

"The Prime Minister has postponed his state visit to India and his official visit to Japan to stay close to the disaster and recovery operations underway in Australia," the statement read. "We deeply appreciate the arrangements that India and Japan have made to date and look forward to rescheduling the visits at a mutually convenient time in the coming months," it added.

Morrison was slated to pay a state visit to India from January 14 to January 16, diplomatic sources had said on Friday. Fires have wreaked havoc in parts of Australia for months and are unlikely to stop anytime soon, given that the country is still in the early months of summer and temperatures typically peak in January and February.

Yesterday Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Morrison and conveyed his heartfelt condolences on the damage to life and property in Australia due to severe and prolonged bushfires. (ANI)