New Delhi, April 16 -- The world is going through a "very tense" situation impacting all nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, pitching for bringing lasting peace to Ukraine and West Asia as military conflict cannot solve any problem.
Modi made the remarks after holding wide-ranging talks with Austria's Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker that focused on significantly ramping up bilateral ties in areas of trade, defence and infrastructure.
In their talks, Modi and Stocker extensively deliberated on the consequences of the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine on global economy and vowed to work jointly to mitigate them.
The Austrian Chancellor landed in New Delhi on Tuesday on a four-day trip. It is Stocker's first official trip outside Europe and first trip by an Austrian Chancellor to India after four decades.
"The entire world is going through a very serious and tense situation today. And it is affecting all of us," Modi said in his media statement.
"In such a tense global environment, India and Austria are unanimous that military conflict cannot solve problems. Whether in Ukraine or West Asia, we support a stable, sustainable, and lasting peace," he said.
"We also agree that reform of global institutions is essential to address growing global challenges. And eradicating terrorism is our shared commitment," Modi noted.
Following the Modi-Stocker talks, the two sides signed six agreements including one on setting up a setting up a fast track mechanism to help Indian and Austrian companies wanting to invest in each other's economies.
Another pact was signed on cooperation on military matters.
The letter of intent (LoI) on military cooperation will provide an institutional framework for promoting cooperation building on the momentum of the India-EU defence and security partnership signed in January.
India and Austria also signed a LoI to advance counter terrorism cooperation including to faciliate establishing a joint working group on counter terrorism.
In his remarks, Stocker said the India-Australia bilateral trade has been growing "very positively" and noted that the India-EU free trade pact will further enhance the economic engagement between the two sides.
The Austrian Chancellor, referring to the West Asia crisis, said "stability, trust, and reliable" partnerships are crucial to navigate the challenging time.
"At a time when geopolitical challenges are getting stronger, such partnerships are even more valuable. Together, we represent an international order in which we can live in freedom and security. We are in favour of a rules based world order," he said.
Modi said Stocker's visit is "extremely significant" and referred to involvement of Austrian companies in numerous engineering projects in India including in railways as well as clean energy initiatives.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.