India - 2 days ago

Prime Minister’s Press Statement during the Joint Press Statement with the Chancellor of Austria

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Your Excellency, Chancellor Stocker,

Delegates from both countries,

Friends from the media,

Namaskar!

Grüß Gott!

Chancellor Stocker, I extend a warm welcome to you on your first visit to India. We are delighted that you have chosen India for your first visit outside of Europe. This reflects your vision and your commitment to India-Austria relations.

The Austrian Chancellor’s visit to India after 40 years is very important. After the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement in 2026, a new phase has started in India–EU relations. Through Chancellor Stocker’s visit, we are ushering India-Austria relations into a new era.

Friends,

India and Austria are trusted partners in infrastructure, innovation, and sustainability. From the Delhi Metro to the Atal Tunnel-built at an altitude of 10,000 feet in the Himalayas, Austria’s tunnelling expertise has made a lasting impact.

Not only that, from railway projects to Gujarat’s Girnar Ropeway, and from clean energy to urban development, Austrian companies have been active partners in numerous engineering projects across India.

Friends,

Chancellor Stocker’s visit is set to bring fresh energy to trade and investment. We are pleased that he has come to India with a strong vision and a large business delegation.

By combining Austria’s expertise with India’s speed and scale, we aim to build reliable technologies and supply chains for the world. We will also deepen our partnerships in defense, semiconductors, quantum technology, and biotechnology.

At the same time, we will further strengthen cooperation in engineering and technical education. The Memorandum of Understanding being signed today between IIT Delhi and Austria’s Montan University is a shining example of this knowledge exchange.

Friends,

India’s talent has the potential to enhance Austria’s innovation and productivity. In 2023, we concluded a comprehensive Migration and Mobility Agreement with Austria. Under this Agreement, we will now further advance mobility in the nursing sector as well.

We will also further strengthen joint research and start-up collaboration. To promote youth exchange, we are also launching the India–Austria Working Holiday Programme today.

Friends,

Today, the entire world is going through a very serious and tense situation, and its impact is being felt by all of us. In such a tense global environment, India and Austria are in agreement that solutions cannot be achieved through military conflict. Whether in Ukraine or West Asia, we support a stable, sustainable, and lasting peace.

We are also in agreement that reform of global institutions is essential to address the growing global challenges. Eradicating terrorism at its roots remains our shared commitment.

Your Excellency,

My visit to Austria in 2024 also took place after four decades. Following that visit, it is a matter of great pride and pleasure for us to welcome you to India today. Let us work together to make the India–Austria partnership innovation-centric and future-ready.

Thank you very much.

Danke schön

List of outcomes: Visit of Federal Chancellor of Austria Dr. Christian Stocker to India

MoUs / Agreements / Letter of Intent

Sl. No	MoU / Agreement/LoI	Description
1	Agreement on Audiovisual Co production between India and Austria	The agreement will provide a framework for enhanced cooperation between the film industries of the two countries and facilitate joint film production, creative exchanges and greater cultural engagement.
2	Joint Announcement on setting up a Fast Track Mechanism for Indian and Austrian companies	The Fast Track mechanism will identify and solve problems faced by Indian and Austrian companies and investors in each other’s economies. The FAST- TRACK mechanism will also serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of investors regarding ease of doing business.
3	Letter of Intent on Cooperation in Military Matters	The LOI will provide an institutional framework for promoting cooperation in military matters, defence industrial and technology partnership, building on the momentum of the India-EU Defence and Security Partnership signed on 27 January 2026, as well as facilitate defence policy dialogue, training and capacity building.
4	Letter of Intent on Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism	The LoI will advance counter terrorism cooperation between India and Austria including the goal of both sides to work together to establish a Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism for exploring areas of strategic cooperation on issues relating to the fight against terrorism.
5	MoU on Food Safety between AGES, Austria and FSSAI, India	The MoU will promote cooperation in food safety standards, scientific exchange, capacity building and sharing of best practices in food regulation and risk assessment thereby promoting trade in agricultural and food products, while ensuring highest priority for safety standards.
6	Joint Letter of Intent regarding dual vocational training, skills development and the recognition of vocational qualifications	Joint Letter of Intent will help to expand exchanges and knowledge sharing in the fields of dual vocational training (apprenticeship) and skills development as well as the promotion of recognition of Indian vocational qualifications according to Austrian Standards.

Announcements

Sl. No	Title
1	Renewal of the MoU on technical cooperation in the road infrastructure sector.(The MoU will help to strengthen technical cooperation in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), road safety, electronic toll collection and traffic management.)
2	Increased cooperation of startup ecosystems under India-Austria Startup Bridge.(continued collaboration between the startups, unicorns, innovation ecosystems and venture capital networks of the two countries)
3	Launch of Institutional Cybersecurity Dialogue.
4	Partnership between India’s Centre for UN Peacekeeping and Austrian Armed Forces International Centre (AUTINT).
5	Agreement to jointly organise a bilateral space industry seminar in Vienna in Autumn 2026; included in the Joint Statement.
6	Operationalization of Working Holiday Programme.
7	High-technology cooperation as a central pillar of the Enhanced India–Austria partnership.(Identification of several collaborative R&D projects including in the areas of material science and technology, quantum technology, wastewater treatment, machine learning, lasers, etc under the joint Committee of Science and Technology)
8	Launch a structured bilateral Dialogue on Cooperation in Education.(Aimed at enhancing skills development, promote curricula development, facilitate the mutual recognition of qualifications, and support institutional collaboration in higher education and the development of vocational education and training systems.)
9	Focus India initiative of Austria’s leading technical Universities to systematically deepen educational cooperation and research cooperation with India.(Launch by the three public technical universities in Austria (Technische Universität Wien, Technische Universität Graz und Montanuniversität Leoben) of a dedicated portal to facilitate admissions for Indian students to pursue engineering and technical masters programmes in Austria)