Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is a matter of great honour to visit this Central European country on the occasion of completion of 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Austria. Both the countries will discuss finding new ways to increase cooperation. He said this in response to the social media post of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. PM Modi will leave for Russia and Austria on Monday on a three-day visit. During this, he will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin on increasing trade, especially in the defense and energy sectors.
On Sunday, in response to Austrian Chancellor Nehammer’s social media post, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the relationship between the two countries will strengthen during this visit. The PM wrote in his post, I hope to discuss strengthening the relationship between the two countries and find new avenues of cooperation. He said that the shared values of democracy, freedom and rule of law are the basis on which the two countries will build a continued close partnership together.
Earlier, Nehamar wrote in his post that he is very much looking forward to welcoming the Prime Minister of India, the world’s largest democratic country, to Vienna. He wrote, This visit is a special honor as it is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to my country in over 40 years. It is also important as we are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations with India. We will get an opportunity to further deepen our bilateral relations and talk about excellent cooperation on many geopolitical challenges. Prime Minister Modi thanked Nehamar for his remarks.
Russia visit is very important at present
The eyes of the world are fixed on the Putin-Modi meeting. During the meeting on the sidelines of the SCO meeting on 16 September 2022, Modi had told Putin that this is not the time for war. This statement caught the attention of the whole world in view of the Ukraine war. This is PM Modi’s first visit to Russia since the Russian attack on Ukraine. However, amid the war, India continued to receive oil and gas supplies from Russia and played the role of a neutral country, despite the displeasure of Western countries.
Indian Prime Minister’s first visit to Austria in four decades
PM Modi will be on a visit to Russia on 8 and 9 July and then from there he will go to Austria. He will be in Austria on 9 and 10 July. This will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Austria in four decades. He will meet the President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen and the Chancellor. PM Modi and Chancellor Nehammer will also address the meeting of top entrepreneurs of India-Austria. Modi will also interact with the people of the Indian community in Vienna. Analysts believe that the purpose of this visit is to show the importance of India-Russia relations in view of the growing closeness between Moscow and Beijing and also to balance relations with Western countries.
Great opportunity for direct talks on trade: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday that this visit of PM Modi is a great opportunity to have direct talks on trade with President Putin. He said, there are some issues like trade imbalance…so, obviously this meeting at the leadership level will prove to be important. Because according to his instructions, we will see how to take the relationship forward. On the 22nd India-Russia annual bilateral summit, the Foreign Minister said that it is a good tradition. But there has been some decline in such summits. Apart from resolving the payment issue due to sanctions on Russia, supply of defense hardware, investment in the proposed Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor, the sensitive issue of Indians fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine is also likely to be discussed between the two leaders.
