Nation / Fri, 12 Jul 2024 The Indian Express

How PM Modi’s visit to Austria sends a message both to Moscow and the West

Narendra Modi’s visit to Vienna this week was the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria since June 1983, when Indira Gandhi travelled to the country. In 1955, the four occupying powers signed the Austrian State Treaty with the Austrian government to establish Austria as an independent state. It was Foreign Minister Gruber who contacted Prime Minister Nehru, asking for support in the negotiations to bring them to a positive conclusion. Alexander Schallenberg followed in his father’s footsteps to join the Austrian foreign service and, in 2019, became the Foreign Minister of his country. Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the latter’s official residence on Monday.

Narendra Modi’s visit to Vienna this week was the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria since June 1983, when Indira Gandhi travelled to the country.

The Prime Minister’s decision to travel to Vienna immediately after he met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was significant — Austria is a European country that is not a part of Nato, the US-led anti-Russia trans-Atlantic military alliance, whose 32 leaders gathered in Washington DC this week.

Message to both sides

During the visit that Modi said was being watched by the “entire world”, the Prime Minister told Putin that the death of innocent children causes “pain and the heart simply explodes”, that “peace talks do not succeed amid bombs, guns and bullets”, and that the “solution [to any conflict] cannot be found on the battlefield”.

Modi’s statements conveyed India’s deep concern at a suspected Russian missile attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. The attack, carried out when the Prime Minister was in Russia, reflected a pattern — in December 2023, when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Moscow to meet Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia launched its biggest air attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February 2022, killing at least 31 people, according to the Ukrainian military.

So, speaking in Vienna with Chancellor Karl Nehammer the day after he met Putin, the Prime Minister stressed again that “this is not a time for war”, that “problems cannot be solved on the battlefield”, and that the “loss of innocent lives anywhere is unacceptable”.

The reiteration was India’s clear message to Western capitals concerned over Modi’s bilateral meeting with Russia’s leader.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a selfie with Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer during his visit to the Federal Chancellery, in Vienna on Wednesday. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a selfie with Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer during his visit to the Federal Chancellery, in Vienna on Wednesday. (ANI)

Country born neutral

Vienna was under Nazi occupation during World War II. After the end of the war, it was divided into four sectors by the US, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union, supervised by the Allied Commission. The Allies occupied Austria for a decade after the war ended.

In 1955, the four occupying powers signed the Austrian State Treaty with the Austrian government to establish Austria as an independent state. The Soviet Union demanded that Austria, which is located strategically between capitalist western Europe and the communist bloc in the east of the continent, maintain neutrality on the model of Switzerland, with the four powers pledging to the integrity and inviolability of Austrian territory.

The 1955 treaty, which was ratified by all countries, thus bound Austria to neutrality. The constitution of Austria prohibits entering into military alliances, and the establishment of foreign military bases on Austrian territory.

Austria and Nehru

In 1952-53, the Austrians approached Jawaharlal Nehru, who was respected by both Western nations and the Soviets, for help in securing a sovereign nation.

India was among the few countries that supported Austria’s appeal at the United Nations General Assembly in 1952 for an end to the Allied occupation and the restoration of its sovereignty. Karl Gruber, the Austrian Foreign Minister, noted that “The consent of such an important country [India] — whose neutrality in the East-West Conflict is beyond any doubt — was destined to be especially beneficial to Austria’s cause.” (Quoted in Hans Köchler’s Austria, Neutrality and Non-alignment)

In June 1953, Gruber and Nehru attended the coronation of Elizabeth II in London and, according to media reports from the time, had a meeting the following morning. In his book The Political Settlement After the Second World War (1972), the British historian Sir John Wheeler-Bennett wrote that Nehru’s role as a “diplomatic mediator” introduced “an entirely new factor into the Austrian treaty discussions”.

Köchler, the well known Austrian philosopher, quoted from a report published in the Austrian daily Neues Österreich on June 21, 1953: “Prime Minister Nehru…is without a doubt the only personality in international politics whose ‘good offices’ can be effective in supporting Austria in her efforts towards the realization of the State Treaty.”

In June 1955, about a month after Austria had gained full independence through the conclusion of the State Treaty, Nehru paid a State Visit to the country, the first by a foreign leader.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Nehammer recalled Nehru’s role. With Prime Minister Modi listening, he said: “The situation was difficult, it was difficult to make progress. It was Foreign Minister Gruber who contacted Prime Minister Nehru, asking for support in the negotiations to bring them to a positive conclusion. This is what happened. India helped Austria and the negotiations came to a positive conclusion with the Austrian State Treaty.”

Evolution of ties

Diplomatic relations between India and Austria were established on November 10, 1949 — this year marks its 75th anniversary.

The year after Indira’s visit in 1983, Austria’s Chancellor Fred Sinowatz came to India on a reciprocal visit. President K R Narayanan went to Austria on a State Visit in November 1999; Austria’s President Dr Heinz Fischer came in February 2005, and President Pratibha Patil visited Austria in October 2011.

Austria’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg, has an interesting connection with India.

When he visited with a high-level business delegation in March 2022, it became known that his father, Wolfgang Schallenberg, was Austria’s Ambassador to India between 1974 and 1978, and the current Foreign Minister had attended elementary school in New Delhi.

Alexander Schallenberg followed in his father’s footsteps to join the Austrian foreign service and, in 2019, became the Foreign Minister of his country. He became Chancellor for three months in 2021, and has been Foreign Minister since December 2021.

So, when Schallenmerg met Jaishankar, they struck an instant rapport — both career diplomats turned Foreign Ministers, both sons of illustrious government officials. (Jaishankar is the son of K Subrahmanyam, the doyen of India’s strategic affairs analysts.)

Why Austria matters

On Wednesday, Chancellor Nehammer and Prime Minister Modi recognised the potential to significantly upgrade the bilateral partnership to a higher level. In addition to closer political-level dialogue, the two leaders emphasised a “future-oriented bilateral sustainable economic and technology partnership”, covering a range of new initiatives and joint projects.

Austria offers tremendous opportunities for bilateral collaboration in infrastructure, renewable energy, e-commerce, fintech, enterprise tech, consumer services, and media and entertainment.

Both countries have taken balanced positions in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the latter’s official residence on Monday. (Photo: MEA India/ X)

Even though Austria supported the EU’s sanctions against Russia, on April 11, 2022, Chancellor Nehammer became the first European leader to visit President Putin to discuss the end of the war. Austria has publicly criticised Russian actions in Ukraine, but commercial ties between the two countries remain largely intact, and it continues to import gas from Russia.

During Nehru’s visit in 1955, Austria’s President Theodor Körner described him as a statesman who was “continuously giving new impulses to world politics by fruitful ideas”, and a “tireless fighter for freedom and understanding among nations”. (India and Europe in a Changing World: Context, Confrontation, Cooperation, ed. Rajendra K Jain, 2023).

2024 is not 1955, but New Delhi and Vienna could again navigate the choppy global waters of tension and conflict as partners with a shared goal.