• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Moscow on July 8 and 9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

• In the second leg of the trip, Modi will be visiting Austria on July 9-10 at the invitation of the Chancellor of Austria.

• PM Modi’s upcoming visit to Austria will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to that country in 41 years, the last being of Indira Gandhi in 1983.

• Modi’s official visit on July 9-10 comes when India and Austria mark 75 years of their diplomatic relations.

• Jawaharlal Nehru travelled to Austria in 1955 in the first prime ministerial visit since diplomatic ties were established in 1949.

• Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Austria in 1971 which was followed by the visit of then Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky in 1980. 

• Indira Gandhi’s visit in 1983 was followed by the visit of then chancellor Fred Sinowatz in 1984.

• While there have been no prime ministerial visits from India since Indira Gandhi’s visit, there have been President-level visits to the country.

• President K.R. Narayanan visited Austria in 1999. President Heinz Fischer came on an official state visit to India in February 2005. President Pratibha Patil visited Austria in 2011.

India-Austria Relations

• The Indo-Austrian cultural relations have a long tradition dating back to the  16th century when Balthasar Springer traveled from Tyrol in 1505 to India along with the third Portuguese fleet. The Austrian tradition of Indology began in a period renowned for its distinguished philologist and archaeologist between 1825-1920. 

• The teaching of Sanskrit at Vienna University started in 1845 and a high point was reached in 1880 with the foundation of an independent chair for Indology. Following a brief interruption between 1938-1955, the Chair became an independent department, now known as Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at University of Vienna. 

• The visit of India’s philosopher-poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore twice to Vienna — in 1921 and 1926 was one of the crucial bridges of cultural and intellectual exchange between India and Austria. 

• Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s famous lecture in 1921 ‘The religion of the forest’, portrayed the value of getting closer to nature and learning union and compassion. 

• Diplomatic relations between India and Austria were established on November 10, 1949.

• Several bilateral agreements/MoUs have been signed with Austria both at inter-government level as well as between institutions, providing the framework for wide-ranging cooperation. 

• Total bilateral trade for 2023 (January-December) was $2.93 billion. 

• Indian exports to Austria was $1.52 billion and imports were $1.41 billion.

• Main exports to Austria: Electronic goods, apparels, textile, footwear, rubber articles, vehicles & railways parts, electrical machinery and mechanical appliances.

• India’s main imports from Austria: Machinery, mechanical appliances, railway parts, iron and steel.

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