Narendra Modi has a lot to do these days. At the beginning of the week, the Prime Minister of India traveled to Moscow, where he met the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday evening he flew to Vienna to visit Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on Wednesday. Besides the meeting with Nehammer, Modi’s visit program includes an Indo-Austrian economic forum at the Hofburg. With a bilateral trade volume of around 2.7 billion euros in 2023, India is one of Austria’s most important trading partners outside the EU, according to the Federal Chancellery. The 73-year-old state guest will be accompanied by a delegation of around 120 people, including his foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, advisers and business representatives
Modi’s travel plan is a symbol of his understanding of politics: the head of government of the world’s largest democracy does not want to commit himself. He prefers to move between the lines rather than take sides. Modi prefers not to make enemies and takes advantage of everyone.
The focus is on Modi’s interests, not those of the West
Both visits are aimed at boosting economic contacts between the host countries and India respectively. Completely to Modi’s taste, under his regime India developed rapidly. Mumbai, for example, became a financial and stock market city. The economy of the once poor country has grown dynamically over the years – also thanks to close contacts with Western countries and Russia, which was one of the biggest partners in the modernization of India. The Indian elites have not forgotten this and are still grateful to the world’s largest country by area.
So it is not surprising that Modi prefers to dance at several weddings at the same time. In addition to economic contacts, military relations between India and Russia are also close, but aid has been promised to Ukraine. For Modi, this is not a contradiction. Chancellor Nehammer speaks of “an important signal for a broad peace initiative” that Modi is launching with his visit.
The West wants India – as a member of the BRICS alliance – to take an active role in ending the war in Ukraine. The country and its prime minister have so far failed to fulfill this hope. It is doubtful that this will change. Modi’s visit to Moscow was largely more of an act of friendship than a warning appeal. The two heads of state seemed to know each other and exchanged pleasantries over tea. As is typical of “true friends,” they sat together and “talked about a range of topics,” Modi said after his visit. He said he was “satisfied” that “we were able to present our views on Ukraine openly and in detail.”
Modi also discussed Moscow’s recent rocket attack on a children’s clinic in Kiev. “War cannot solve problems,” said the Indian Prime Minister. “We must find a path to peace through dialogue.” If innocent children are murdered, the pain is “unbearable”.
Narendra Modi was friendly with Putin © AP / Gavriil Grigorov
Putin, for his part, praised Modi’s political commitment. “You have dedicated your whole life to the people of India, people feel that,” Tass quoted Putin as saying. “You are right, I have only one goal – my people and my country,” Modi replied.