Foreign student numbers should be 'depoliticised'

Vicki Treadell says education systems in Australia and the UK are a crucial form of soft power. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

International students should be not be included in caps on immigration in order to boost soft power diplomacy, Britain's top diplomat in Australia says.

In a speech to the Universities Australia Solutions Summit, UK High Commissioner Vicki Treadell said the issue of foreign students should be depoliticised.