India, Austria to upgrade bilateral ties to strategic cooperation

India and Austria have decided to upgrade their bilateral relations to a strategic level making the ties mutually beneficial and sustainable.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Austrian Chancellor Nehammer/

 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Vienna on Wednesday.

Modi is currently on an official visit to Austria and the Russian Federation.

The two heads of state emphasised the need to upgrade economic and political partnership between the two countries to a higher level in order to tap the existing potential. 

The emphasis is on technological and economic partnership across a spectrum of new areas of growth, including joint projects, collaborative technology development, research and innovation and business-to-business engagement. This would, inter alia, cover green and digital technologies, infrastructure, renewable energy, water management, life sciences, smart cities, mobility and transportation.

On the political front, Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Nehammer underscored the importance of the two countries working together to contribute to international and regional peace and prosperity. It was decided to enhance mutual consultations and institutional dialogue between the two countries in different areas,

On the volatile situation in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the context of China’s wild claims on South China Sea, the two leaders emphasised the need for respect to territorial integrity and freedom of navigation in accordance with UN law on the sea.

On the war in Ukraine, both leaders offered to support any collective effort to facilitate sincere and earnest engagement between the two countries in order to achieve comprehensive and lasting peace in the region.

They also reiterated their condemnation of all forms of terrorism, including cross-border and cyber- terrorism as also countries providing financial support and safe haven to terrorists. They also called for concerted and decisive action action against all terrorists.

The two leaders recalled the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) on the margins of the G20 summit in Delhi in September 2023, which, they consider as significant initiative of great strategic importance that would significantly enhance connectivity and thereby the potential of trade flows. 

Chancellor Nehammer reaffirmed Austria’s strong support for the ongoing India-EU trade and investment negotiations and the early implementation of the EU-India Connectivity Partnership.

The two leaders also expressed their strong commitment to the binding targets for achieving  climate neutrality by 2070.