RIYADH: In a reception on Wednesday ahead of Austrian National Day, Oskar Wustinger, the Austrian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, highlighted the growing economic and trade relations between the two countries.
“The excellent Austrian-Saudi relations are based on solid friendship and cover more and more fields. Fast-growing economic exchange and cooperation are important and dynamic elements,” Wustinger said.
“There is an impressive growth in bilateral trade, with Austrian exports to Saudi Arabia increasing 49 percent in 2024, and equally important, Saudi imports to Austria increasing by 29 percent,” he added.
Attending the reception from the Saudi side were high-level officials and diplomats, including Faisal Al-Sudairy, undersecretary of the Riyadh region, who represented Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar.
As a part of his remarks Wustinger also detailed key areas of collaboration under Vision 2030, commending the initiative for being “impressively bold.”
“Vision 2030 is impressively bold and very ambitious. Austrian companies with world-leading expertise are well-suited to support these efforts,” he said.
The ambassador also underscored the numerous trade missions organized by the Austrian Embassy Commercial Section to Saudi Arabia which showcased the interest for collaboration in key sectors such as green technology, infrastructure, mining, tourism and education.
“These are areas with decades of Austrian expertise and innovation, which can significantly contribute to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious development journey,” the envoy said.
Wustinger said that the number of Austrian subsidiaries in the Kingdom is growing with several Austrian companies having opened their regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, and another Austrian regional headquarters due to open in December.
On the topic of tourism, the ambassador said that this summer was marked by a 34 percent surge in Saudi tourists to Austria.
“Austria is a popular destination for Saudi tourists and (is becoming) even more popular.
“Many visas have already been issued in the application of the new visa cascade,” he added, referring to changes to the EU Schengen visa scheme allowing easier access to multi-entry visas for Saudis.
“And an ever-growing number of Saudi football teams regularly hold their summer camps in Austria,” he added.
On the educational front, the ambassador also said that Saudis are participating in executive training programs for the Diplomatic Academy Vienna and in the Austrian Leadership Programs run by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
