External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held a one-on-one meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg and had a wide-ranging discussion on identifying new economic possibilities for cooperation besides regional security issues and implications of the Russia-Ukraine war.
"An interesting evening with Austrian FM @a_schallenberg who spent his early years in New Delhi. Appreciated his insights on India's progress in the last decade. Held wide-ranging & fruitful discussions. Reviewed our bilateral cooperation & identified new economic possibilities," Jaishankar tweeted.
The two leaders exchanged views on several contemporary issues including the ongoing Ukraine situation, Indo-Pacific and Afghanistan, Jaishankar informed in another tweet.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg extended his thanks to EAM Jaishankar for the excellent discussion on further strengthening the ties between the two countries.
"Thanks to my Indian counterpart @DrSJaishankar for the excellent discussion on further strengthening our bilateral relations and economic cooperation. Also spoke about regional security issues, incl. in the #IndoPacific, and the global implications of #Russia's war in #Ukraine," Schallenberg said in a tweet.
Jaishankar on Sunday welcomed Schallenberg and said that he looked forward to productive discussions.
"A warm welcome back to Austrian FM @a_schallenberg to India. Look forward to productive discussions today," Jaishankar had tweeted.
Earlier, on Friday, India and Austria held the sixth round of Foreign Office Consultations virtually and discussed various aspects of bilateral relations including political, economic, commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages.
The Indian side was led by Dammu Ravi, Additional Secretary (Europe and COVID19), and the Austrian side was led by Ambassador Gregor Koessler, Director General for Political Affairs in the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, according to the MEA.
"India and Austria have warm and cordial relations which are based on shared values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and equality. Our bilateral relations are marked by strong linkages across institutions, academia, culture, and people-to-people ties," MEA had said in a statement.
The talks covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, and commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages, the ministry said.
It further stated that two sides exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery including vaccines. Regional and global issues including developments in the Indo-Pacific, neighbourhood policy, terrorism, and India-EU Relations, amongst others, were discussed.
The ministry added that the deliberations also covered multilateral issues such as United Nations reforms and India's priorities during its term in the United Nations Security Council.
( With inputs from ANI )
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