India and Austria on Thursday agreed on measures to strengthen cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism, trade and mobility of professionals, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker emphasised that problems cannot be resolved through the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine.
Stocker, the first Austrian chancellor to visit India in more than four decades, is accompanied by a 60-member business delegation, signalling Vienna’s intention to ramp up trade and investment ties by building on the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement that is expected to be signed later this year.
“By combining Austria’s expertise with India’s speed and scale, we will ensure reliable technology and supply chains for the entire world. We will strengthen our partnerships in defence, semiconductors, quantum and biotechnology,” Modi told a joint media interaction with Stocker.
“The entire world is going through a very serious and tense situation, and it is affecting all of us. In such a tense global environment, India and Austria are unanimous that military conflict cannot solve problems. Whether in Ukraine or West Asia, we support a stable, sustainable and lasting peace,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.
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‘Conflict can be solved through negotiations’: Austrian Chancellor
Stocker said he and Modi share the view that conflicts can be resolved only through negotiations, and emphasised that stability, trust and reliable partnerships are a “strategic necessity” in an era of geopolitical disruption. “Power centres are shifting and new alliances are being created and conflicts are becoming more complex,” he said. “That is why India is such a reliable partner and valued by Austria.”
“We are in favour of a rules-based world order, and not a world in which might is right,” Stocker added.
Besides launching a cybersecurity dialogue, the two sides signed a letter of intent on military cooperation to boost defence industrial and technology partnership by building on the India-EU defence and security partnership concluded in January. It will also facilitate defence policy dialogue and training.
All forms of terrorism condemned by both sides
Another letter of intent on creating a joint working group on counter-terrorism will advance strategic cooperation in countering radicalisation and extremism, disrupting terror financing linkages and channels, including through the UN and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and preventing exploitation of emerging technologies for terrorism.
Both sides condemned all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terror, and Modi and Stocker strongly denounced the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the terror incident near the Red Fort last year and sought concerted global efforts to fight terrorism.
Modi and Stocker also signalled their intention to ramp up trade and investment ties by building on the conclusion of negotiations for the India-EU trade deal. Modi described the two countries as reliable partners in infrastructure and innovation, pointing to the role played by Austria’s tunnelling expertise in building the Delhi Metro and the Atal Tunnel at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
“India’s talent has the potential to enhance Austria’s innovation and productivity. In 2023, we signed a comprehensive migration and mobility agreement with Austria. Now, under this agreement, we will also advance mobility in the nursing sector,” Modi said.
Stocker noted that two-way trade has grown to about €3 billion and 160 Austrian companies are active in India in frontier technologies such as semiconductors, renewable energies and automobiles, and said India’s growth rate of about 7% a year makes it a “key strategic partner”.
The India-EU FTA will reduce trade barriers and create new opportunities for industrial cooperation and exports in engineering, electronics, chemicals and industrial services. “I think this agreement is very important, especially in times of geopolitical challenges, because our common response to multiple crises must be to build alliances,” Stocker said.
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Fast track mechanism to solve problems
The two sides announced a fast track mechanism to solve problems faced by Indian and Austrian companies and investors in each other’s economies. This mechanism will serve as a platform for discussing suggestions from investors regarding ease of doing business.
Yet another letter of intent will expand knowledge-sharing in dual vocational training or apprenticeship and skill development and promote recognition of Indian vocational qualifications according to Austrian standards. The two sides agreed to operationalise a “working holiday programme” whereby up to 200 visas will be issued every year to participants aged between 18 and 30 years with a maximum period of stay of one year.
The two sides also concluded an agreement on audio-visual coproduction to enhance cooperation between film industries and facilitate joint film production, and a memorandum of understanding on food safety focused on standards and sharing of best practices in food regulation to promote trade in agricultural and food products.
They launched a structured bilateral dialogue on cooperation in education to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and support collaboration in development of vocational education and training systems, and the “Focus India” initiative of Austria’s leading technical universities, including a dedicated portal to facilitate admissions for Indian students to pursue engineering and technical masters programmes.
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