Peacekeeping, Trade, Technology: India-Austria Seek To Deepen Bilateral Ties

India and Austria recently held discussions on further strengthening bilateral cooperation in several key areas, including peacekeeping, trade, technology and innovation. India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador P Harish, met Austria’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Arnold Kammel, in New York to review ways to do so.

Both the countries share close and friendly ties, with diplomatic relations between India and Austria dating back to November 10, 1949. In 2024, both the nations marked 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Austria.

Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations shared the details of the recent discussions on social media, stating the discussion focused on cooperation in peacekeeping, trade, technology and innovation. It added that both sides looked forward to further deepening close bilateral and multilateral relations.

India-Austria seek deepening of relations

“Dynamic discussion between Deputy Minister of Defense Arnold Kammel and Parvathaneni Harish on Austria and India cooperation in peacekeeping, trade, technology and innovation. Looking forward to further deepen our close bilateral and multilateral relations,” Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN said.

The meeting took place shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl Reisinger on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P Harish also welcomed the positive talks. “Nice to meet Deputy Minister of Defense of Austria Arnold Kammel. Good exchange of views on strengthening India-Austria partnership at the UN,” he wrote on X.

How have India-Austria bilateral ties evolved

Bilateral ties have also seen recent diplomatic engagement. In January 2026, President Droupadi Murmu received the credentials of Robert Zischg, the new Austrian Ambassador to India.

Speaking after the ceremony, Ambassador Zischg said he was honoured to present his credentials and highlighted the longstanding and friendly relationship between Austria and India, rooted in strong people to people ties and economic cooperation. He said he looked forward to strengthening cooperation and working closely with Indian partners during his tenure.

The Austrian Embassy in India also welcomed Ambassador Zischg in a post on X, saying it looked forward to further strengthening excellent bilateral relations under his leadership.

In December last year, India and Austria held the eighth round of Foreign Office Consultations, which covered the full range of bilateral relations. The MEA shared that the discussions included political engagement, trade and economic cooperation, science and technology, cultural exchanges and people to people ties.

Both sides agreed to maintain regular official exchanges and to hold the next round of consultations in New Delhi at a mutually convenient time.

Earlier, in September, Austria launched a major initiative to attract Indian students to its leading technical universities. The move aimed to strengthen education and people to people ties and to address Austria’s growing demand for skilled labour.