New Delhi, India

In an exclusive interview with WION, Austria's Labour Minister Martin Kocher said his country sees India as an attractive investment destination. He also spoke about the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks and the possibility of it being signed soon.

Advertisment

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

WION: What were the conversations [you had] with your counterparts?

Kocher: Of course, we discussed the challenges that we are facing worldwide at the moment as a fragmentation...that we are seeing between the large blocks. There is a geopolitical challenge. And these were the heart of our discussions and I think it's important to have a bold political answer and dialogues like that help...to bring people together and think about solutions.

Advertisment

WION: One of the focus has been mobility pacts India has been emphasising on. What kind of conversations are there when it comes to Indian-Austria?

Kocher: Indeed, it's the case that mobility plays a large role. It's an ageing society in Austria, it's clear that we need skilled migration. We have a system in place that is close to the Canadian system and a point system that allows people from around the world to enter the Austrian market based on experience and based on education. And, of course, there are already quite a lot of Indians that are active in the Austrian market, but we want to make sure that people know that there is this possibility.

WION: Let's talk about economics, an area where you can shed more light. How do you see the rise of India and Asia in terms of the global economic order?

Advertisment

Kocher: I think this is a chance that we have to see and I welcome the negotiations that are going on between the European Union - Austria is a member of the European Union-  and India on a free trade agreement. I think when we look at the volume of trades, the momentum is good.

It increased over time over the last couple of years. But there's untapped potential that a trade agreement could actually unlock. And this is one of the issues that [we] have been discussing. Austria is a very strongly export-oriented nation. It will be important to increase the trade volume but we have already a record trade volume between India and Austria and we want to make sure that...the good momentum continues.

WION: How optimistic are you that the FTA will be signed very soon?

Kocher: In Europe, the European Commission is negotiating the treaties with countries when it comes to free trade. But many countries, especially smaller countries in Europe, actually welcome the developments. There is momentum that they should see. And I hope that we have swift negotiations that will find a solution on a fair and equitable level that benefits both sides, not only the companies but also the populations on both sides.

WION: How do you see India as an investment destination?

Kocher: India is seen as a very attractive investment destination for Austria, and we have seen lots of investments coming in.

We have also seen investments coming to Austria from India, which we also welcome. But I think that there is, again, untapped potential.

But I think both sides profit and also investment component in the EU in the negotiations. You probably know we're discussing also an investment component in these negotiations.