Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) signed a bilateral migration and mobility agreement with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday. The signing took place on the sidelines of a meeting between EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the Indo-Pacific region in Stockholm, the Foreign Ministry announced.
“The agreement is a clear commitment to greater Austro-Indian cooperation in the fight against illegal migration. For the first time, we are creating a contractual basis for returning to India,” Foreign Minister Schallenberg said in a press release. The agreement was initialed earlier this year during the visit of the Indian foreign minister to Vienna.
Combating illegal migration
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement aims on the one hand to combat illegal migration from India to Europe and on the other hand to facilitate the recruitment of highly qualified workers from India by Austria. The issuance of visas to journalists and scientists and the exchange of students must also be simplified. The creation of a “working holiday programme” is also planned: this should enable young people to gain professional experience in the other country for a short period of time.
“The agreement is a milestone in our relationship with the world’s most populous country. It creates opportunities to bring Indian workers to Austria, for example as part of the Red-White-Red Card. Highly educated Indians can now fill gaps where there is a labor shortage in Austria,” emphasizes Schallenberg. Cooperation between government agencies should therefore make it easier for Indian nationals to find a suitable employer in Austria.
Further discussions with colleagues
According to a statement from the State Department, Schallenberg used the ministerial forum to continue Austria’s strategic focus on the Asia-Pacific region. He met his counterparts from Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Singapore – Yoshimasa Hayashi, Ali Sabri, Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi and Vivian Balakrishnan – on the sidelines of the meeting for bilateral talks.
Source: Krone
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