PNN – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Vienna at the same time as the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Austria; A trip that analysts think can carry a two-way message between the sides of the war in Ukraine.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the Prime Minister of India will visit Vienna on the 75th anniversary of these relations, which were established in 1949.
This trip is significant from several angles, because this is the first visit of the Prime Minister of India to Austria in the last 41 years. The last Indian Prime Minister to visit Vienna was Indira Gandhi in 1983. Analysts say Modi’s visit to Austria will focus on several key areas, including infrastructure, renewable energy, high-tech and startup development.
In a special meeting in New Delhi last week, India’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vinni Mohan Kwatra emphasized the potential for bilateral cooperation in these sectors and pointed to Austria’s strengths in infrastructure and renewable energy.
India-Austria relations
India and Austria share a long history of diplomatic engagement. In 1953, India played an important role in Austria’s negotiations with the Soviet Union, which led to Austria’s independence in 1955. Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India at the time, is still considered a valuable figure for the history of Austria.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries flourished with the establishment of the India-Austria Joint Economic Commission in 1983. The commission has facilitated more than 200 projects, including technical cooperation and joint ventures in areas such as steel, manufacturing technology, rail transportation, and metallurgy.
In 2023, the bilateral trade between India and Austria amounted to 2.930 billion dollars. Trade between India and Austria is somewhat balanced and India exports electronic goods, textiles and footwear to this European country and imports machinery, railway development and repair parts and steel from Austria.
In 2013, the Indian Space Research Institute launched two Austrian satellites, and strong cooperation in space technology between the two countries continues.
In February 2023, the “India-Austria Startup Bridge” was launched to boost innovation and entrepreneurship between the two countries, the initiative aims to create a strong platform for startups from the two countries to collaborate and drive technological advancements.
Modi has always maintained cordial relations with Austria. During his first term as Prime Minister, he met with the then Chancellor of Austria Christian Kern in 2017 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In the second term, he met with Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg during the Climate Summit (COP-26) in Glasgow in 2021.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehmer said about Modi’s visit: This visit is a special honor as it is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over 40 years and an important milestone as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations with India.
Indians in Austria
The Indian community in Austria, estimated at more than 31,000, consists mostly of healthcare professionals, businessmen and students, mostly from the states of Kerala and Punjab.
India and Austria signed a comprehensive agreement on migration and relocation in May last year.
Since becoming the Prime Minister of India in 2014, Modi has always tried to adopt a policy of multilateralism or multi-alignment. It seems that his three trips after the third term of the Prime Minister, the special guest of the Group of Seven, the trip to Moscow and the trip to Vienna, have a common point to talk about.
While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members are gathering in Washington for a summit on the Ukraine war, the Indian Prime Minister will meet the Russian President and then visit Austria as a neutral country in the war.
Speculations emphasize that Modi has brought a message from the G7 meeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin and will give the answer to the Chancellor of Austria.
Analysts are waiting for the feedback of the meeting between Putin and Modi, whether the Indian Prime Minister is a messenger of peace or an ambassador of warning during his visit to Austria.