New Delhi [India], April 16 (ANI): The India-Austria Business Summit is set to take place centre stage as Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker on Thursday highlighted deepening economic ties with India, pointing to expanding trade, technology partnerships, and strategic cooperation.
He said, "This afternoon I will inaugurate the India-Austria Business Summit, and this is a platform that will bring decision-makers together and create concrete opportunities between Austrian and Indian companies."
Addressing a joint press meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stocker emphasised the strong business delegation accompanying him. "I am accompanied by 60 high-ranking business leaders, the who's who of the Austrian business world. This delegation is led by our Minister for Economic Affairs and Vice President of the Austrian Economic Chamber," he said.
He underscored the benefits of close political ties for economic growth. He said, "Our close political ties are also of benefit for our business landscape. India is already one of the most important trading partners outside the EU for Austria."
Highlighting trade growth, he said, " Our bilateral trade has been developing very positively and has increased to about 3 billion euros in the last 10 years."
Stocker pointed to the presence of Austrian firms in India. "About 160 Austrian companies are active in the Indian market in important frontier technologies such as semiconductor production and in the fields of renewable energies, automotive, and infrastructure. This shows that our friendship is very broad-based."
Calling India a key partner, he added, "India has an impressive growth rate of about 7 per cent per year, and it's one of the most dynamic global markets and a key strategic partner for us. Austrian companies will in the future benefit more strongly from this dynamism."
Emphasising the importance of the summit, he said, "This afternoon I will inaugurate the India-Austria Business Summit, and this is a platform that will bring decision-makers together and create concrete opportunities between Austrian and Indian companies."
"The summit will provide new and also strong incentives for greater cooperation and successful joint projects.It is a policy of ours that we will open doors and create reliable conditions," he added.
Highlighting Austria's strengths, Stocker said, "Our companies are the ones who will be innovative and will have the technology and the know-how of the highest quality to be able to take this further."
"These are the qualities that Austrian companies have shown to have at the international level, and this is why they are such reliable partners and sought-after," he noted.
He also underlined the broad scope of bilateral ties. "All this shows that our partnership covers a lot of areas. We have economic dynamism, academic and scientific cooperation and responsibility as far as security policy is concerned."
Speaking on future vision and stability, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we want that we have a clear vision and that step-by-step we go forward into a secure future. Stability also means that we are politically and independent, that in the sense of energy we are not dependent on any single country."
Referring to discussions held, he added, "We have discussed this today, we have spoken about pump storage projects, we have spoken about other future fields where we can work together in the future."
Highlighting diplomatic outreach, Stocker said, "The opening of the new consulate in Bengaluru is also a sign of our intention to intensify our relations."
"We hope to be able to work even closer together in the future. Our relations cover multiple facets; they are very vibrant and Prime Minister, we would like to intensify these in the future," he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker at the Hyderbad House, New Delhi.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker also laid a wreath at Rajghat. Raj Ghat is a serene, open-air memorial in Delhi dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, marking the spot of his cremation on January 31, 1948.
Earlier on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Chancellor Stocker during his first official visit to India. The meeting signals a step forward in bilateral ties, with further high-level discussions planned.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Delighted to call on Federal Chancellor Dr Christian Stocker of Austria, as he begins his first official visit to India." He added, "Confident that his discussions with PM Narendra Modi tomorrow will open new avenues for greater cooperation across various domains."
This is Stocker's first visit to India and his first official trip to Asia since taking office in 2025. The visit comes amid growing economic ties between India and Austria. The two sides are also expected to discuss regional and global issues and their cooperation in international organisations. (ANI)