Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi 40 years ago. Modi flew to Vienna from Moscow after concluding his two-day visit, which saw him discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin a range of topics, including trade, nuclear energy and Ukraine war.
The Prime Minister was welcomed by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at the airport and was later hosted by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer for a private engagement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"An important milestone in India-Austria partnership! PM @narendramodi hosted by Austrian Chancellor @karlnehammer for a private engagement. This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Discussions on realising the full potential of bilateral partnership lie ahead," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, along with photographs of the two leaders together in Vienna.
Modi was seen hugging Nehammer in one of the photos while in another, the Austrian chancellor was seen clicking a selfie with the prime minister.
Nehammer also took to X to post a photo of him and Modi: "Welcome to Vienna, PM @narendramodi! It is a pleasure and honour to welcome you to Austria. Austria and India are friends and partners. I look forward to our political and economic discussions during your visit!"
This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Austria in more than 40 years, the last being of Indira Gandhi in 1983. The visit is expected to boost the ties between the two countries and explore closer cooperation on various geopolitical challenges.
Modi will call on the President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, and hold talks with Nehammer on Wednesday. He will also address business leaders from India and Austria.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Modi's recent visit to Russia a success, adding that he stated the two leaders discussed almost every issue mentioned on the agenda including cooperation in global organisations like G20, BRICS, and the UN.
"I think the visit was very successful. They discussed each and every issue on the bilateral agenda. They discussed the international situation, our cooperation in G20, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in the United Nations, where we support the Indian interest to become a permanent member of the Security Council, like we do for Brazil and African candidates," said Lavrov.
Lavrov also highlighted the 20-year-old friendship between PM Modi and President Putin. "And I think they understood each other always because they have been acquainted for more than 20 years. So the chemistry is there, the understanding of the tasks on the bilateral agenda and on the issues related to international policies, absolutely the same. And I am sure this visit will give a very positive push for the relations in all areas," Lavrov said to ANI.
