Austria visit will strengthen close ties: PM Modi

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his visit to Austria, starting July 9, will further strengthen the "ever-close partnership" between the two nations. 

"Thank you, Chancellor Karl Nehammer. It is indeed an honour to visit Austria to mark this historic occasion. I look forward to our discussions on strengthening the bonds between our nations and exploring new avenues of cooperation," the Prime Minister said in a post on X while replying to the Austrian Chancellor's message.

"The shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law form the bedrock upon which we will build an ever-closer partnership," he added.

PM Modi is scheduled to arrive in Austria, the second leg of his two-nation trip, from Moscow on July 9.

This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria in 41 years. During his stay in Vienna, PM Modi will call on Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and hold talks with Chancellor Nehammer. Both leaders will also address business leaders from India and Austria.

Earlier, on Saturday, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer labelled the Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Vienna as a "special honour," stating that he is eagerly looking forward to it.

In a post on X, the Austrian Chancellor said, "This visit is a special honour as it marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over forty years and a significant milestone as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations with India."

"We will have the opportunity to talk about further deepening our bilateral relationship and closer cooperation on the many geopolitical challenges," he added.

PM Modi is also scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community in Vienna during his visit.

On Friday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra called Austria an "important central European country" that offers excellent opportunities for bilateral cooperation in infrastructure, renewable energy, high technology areas, start-up sectors, media and entertainment.

He also highlighted the growing India-Austria trade and investment linkages, including the recent launch of an India-Austria start-up bridge in February 2024 that has made a "very promising" start.

"The visit, we are confident, will allow us to discuss various areas of importance in bilateral engagement, as also issues of regional and global importance of mutual interest, and help broaden the scope of our partnership," said Foreign Secretary Kwatra.

India and Austria also signed a Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Agreement in May last year and continue to work closely to expand and explore new areas of bilateral partnership.

"We're also looking at what we can do in terms of technology. There are over, I think, 30 to 40 large Austrian companies already present in India in a range of areas from infrastructure, tunnelling, and track laying. We've got a fair amount of investments from India already in Austria. But we want to see how we can take these forward. We want to look at other key areas, clean technologies, and renewables. We want to look at different areas where we can try and work together," said Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs.

--IANS

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