2023-10-30 16:45:15
The Austrian Ambassador: We seek to deepen economic and investment cooperation with Saudi Arabia
At a time when Vienna is looking forward to hosting the work of the upcoming Saudi-Austrian Joint Economic Committee in May 2024, the Austrian Ambassador in Riyadh, Oscar Föstinger, stressed the existence of a strong common desire that is currently pushing private sector companies in the two countries to enhance bilateral investments in many sectors. Critical, including infrastructure, mobility, mining, tourism, leisure infrastructure, green technology and renewable energy.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Festinger said: “The bilateral relations between the two countries are very strong on the political and economic levels, and this is evident from the volume and quality of multifaceted participation at various levels, including repeated high-level ministerial meetings, where the Minister of Economy and Planning returned. “Saudi Al Ibrahim just received a successful visit to Vienna.”
Vostinger added: “We see great investment opportunities to work together in the fields of infrastructure, mobility, mining, tourism, tourism infrastructure, the entertainment sector, green technology and renewable energy. “Saudi Arabia enjoys its vast areas of land and abundant resources of sun, wind and seawater, making it well placed to become a major producer of solar and wind energy in addition to green hydrogen.”
He continued: “We discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of environment, cybersecurity, and dual education, which is a very successful system that combines practical training in companies and vocational academic training. For example, an Austrian company is already training apprentices at its factory in King Abdullah Economic City.”
According to Füstinger, Austrian companies have leading global capabilities in their fields of specialization, and have the necessary experience and know-how to support the Kingdom in achieving climate neutrality until 2060, noting that there is another sector in which the two countries can have an interesting exchange, which is the tourism sector, as it contributes greatly. It contributes to the Austrian GDP and provides job opportunities for thousands of Austrians.
Vostinger expressed his happiness at the recent visit of a delegation of senior officials in the Austrian hospitality sector to Riyadh as part of a trip organized by the Austrian National Tourism Office. One of the goals of this trip was to obtain a first-hand assessment of the impressive number of Saudi tourism initiatives.
He also pointed out that the volume of trade between the two countries increased significantly following “Covid-19,” explaining that in 2022, Austrian exports to the Kingdom grew by 51 percent, reaching 481 million euros ($508.7 million), while Saudi exports increased to Austria by 662 percent to 180 million euros ($190.3 million).
Austrian exports in the first half of 2023 showed a strong upward trend, as Saudi exports to Austria increased by 372 percent, indicating that Saudi exports to date are higher than Austrian exports to the Kingdom.
Föstinger stressed the growing interest on the part of Austrian companies in dealing with Saudi Arabia, as last March witnessed the visit of the Austrian Federal Minister of Labor and Economy, Martin Kocher, to Riyadh, accompanied by the largest delegation of Austrian businessmen ever.
He explained that the joint Austrian-Saudi economic committee was successfully held in Riyadh in 2022, coinciding with the visit of then-Minister Margrethe Schrambuck. At the same time, the embassy’s commercial section organized an Austrian trade mission in Riyadh and Dammam. Furthermore, we very much look forward to the next Joint Economic Committee scheduled to be held in Vienna in May 2024.
Fostinger added: “Our capital not only hosts one of the official headquarters of the United Nations, but it also hosts (OPEC) and (Ovid), two organizations of great importance to the Kingdom. Austrian institutions and companies are very keen to contribute to the success of the ambitious Vision 2030.”
He also stressed that there is always the possibility of further deepening relations, especially at the individual level, indicating his thinking in other fields, especially in the field of sports, culture and science. In this regard, he expressed his happiness that many tourists from the Kingdom come to Austria to spend their holidays.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kingdom already had the largest group of visitors from the Gulf region, and we are looking forward to record numbers this year. We hope that more Austrian tourists will come to the Kingdom to marvel at its beauty and cultural heritage as well as the hospitality of its people, says Füstinger.
He concluded: “The Austrian Embassy in Riyadh played an important role in enhancing bilateral cultural exchange by implementing a wide range of cultural projects with Saudi and European partners. Our well-established archaeological mission from the University of Vienna has also resumed its work at the village site in the Tabuk region.”
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