India, Austria discuss deepening cooperation in peacekeeping and trade

India's UN Ambassador P Harish and Austria's Deputy Defence Minister Arnold Kammel held talks on deepening bilateral cooperation in areas like peacekeeping, trade, and technology, continuing a series of recent high-level diplomatic engagements.

Ambassador P Harish, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Austria's Deputy Minister of Defence Arnold Kammel held discussions on further deepening the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in wide-ranging areas, including trade and peacekeeping.

Sharing the details in a post on X, the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York said, "Dynamic discussion between Deputy Minister of Defence Arnold Kammel and @AmbHarishP on & cooperation in peacekeeping, trade, technology and innovation. Looking forward to further deepen our close bilateral and multilateral relations." https://x.com/AustriaUN/status/2027519040084734012?s=20

Ambassador P Harish also hailed the meeting in a post on X. https://x.com/AmbHarishP/status/2027520920386974160?s=20

Recent Diplomatic Engagements

The meeting comes shortly after EAM S Jaishankar met with the Austrian Foreign Minister, M Beate Meinl-Reisinger on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Earlier in January, President Droupadi Murmu received credentials from Robert Zischg the Austrian Ambassdor to India.

Speaking on this, Austrian Ambassador Zischg said, "I am honoured to have presented my credentials to the Hon'ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu. Austria and India share a longstanding and friendly relationship rooted in strong people-to-people ties and economic cooperation. During my tenure, I look forward to further strengthening Austria-India cooperation and working closely with Indian partners to deepen our bilateral engagement. "

In a post on X, the Austrian embassy wrote, "Welcome Ambassador Zischg! Today, Ambassador Dr. Robert Zischg presented Letter of Credence, marking the official assumption of his duties. We look forward to further strengthening excellent bilateral relations between our two nations under his leadership."

Foreign Office Consultations

In December last year, India and Austria held the 8th Foreign Office Consultations which covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic and commercial ties, as well as cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

"The discussions covered a wide range of areas, including political engagement, trade and economic cooperation, science and technology, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people ties. Cooperation between the two countries in international and multilateral fora was also discussed," the MEA said in an official statement.

It was agreed to maintain regular official exchanges and hold the next FOC in New Delhi at a mutually convenient time.

Strengthening People-to-People Ties

Earlier in September, in an effort to strengthen people-to-people ties and education between the countries, Austria launched a major initiative to attract Indian students to its leading technical universities, aiming to address its "great demand" for skilled labour. (ANI)

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