President Vo Van Thuong, his wife and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived in Vienna Sunday for an official visit to Austria.(Photo: VNA)

Austria is the first leg of President Thuong’s Europe tour and his first visit to Austria as Vietnam’s President.

Multifaceted cooperation

In 1972, the Republic of Austria was one of the first countries in Europe to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Since then, the two countries have deepened bilateral relations in politics, economy, trade, investment, culture, and  education.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien said: “The traditional friendship between Vietnam and Austria is strong. Austria was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, only after Sweden and before Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Agreement. Austria is now one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in Europe with bilateral trade reaching 4 billion USD. Bilateral cooperation has been expanded to education, training, and culture.”

PM Pham Minh Chinh meets Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in April, 2023 in Hanoi (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Vietnam and Austria have maintained exchanges of high-level delegations and contacts. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone conversation with Austrian Prime Minister Sebanstia Kurz in September, 2021. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attended the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments in Austria in September. Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son paid an official visit to Austria last September 2022. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schanllenberg made an official visit to Vietnam in April this year. The two countries have worked closely at multilateral forums and mechanisms like the United Nations, the framework of the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Vietnam has joined 15 free trade agreements, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. In 2019, Austria opened Advantage Austria in Ho Chi Minh city to facilitate, encourage and support business, investment, and innovation cooperation between the two countries. Austria is among Vietnam’s top 10 export partners in Europe and Vietnam is Austria's largest trading partner in ASEAN. Last year, bilateral trade reached nearly 2.8 billion USD. In the first 4 months of this year, trade totaled more than 1 billion USD.

With the enforcement of free trade agreements, an increasingly favorable investment environment, a dynamic economy, and a high-quality labor force, Vietnam is an attractive investment market for Austria and the EU. As of May, Austria ranked 44th of 143 countries and territories invested in Vietnam, with 41 projects worth 148 million USD.

Vietnam and Austria have organized several cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The Vietnam National Academy of Music and the Hanoi University of Theater and Cinema have a close cooperation relationship with Austria’s Graz University of Music and Performing Arts. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year, the two countries organized several cultural exchanges. About 6,000 Vietnamese living in Austria are an important bridge to promote cooperation between the two countries.

Deepening multifaceted cooperation, particularly economic ties

Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Hans-Peter Glanzer says President Vo Van Thuong's visit to Austria is of great importance, tightening relations between the two countries, and creating an opportunity to further bilateral cooperation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien (Photo: VOV)

Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien says President Vo Van Thuong’s visit will contribute to strengthening bilateral cooperation.

"This is a very important occasion to promote cooperation between Vietnam and Austria, which is one of the countries with important trade relations with Vietnam. Austria is the world's third largest center for multilateral cooperation, where the United Nations has many offices. During this visit, the President will work with the UN and UN organizations to enhance Vietnam's position,' said Mr. Kien.

On the basis of the multifaceted cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Austria, President Vo Van Thuong's visit will further promote cooperation in defense, security, e-commerce, climate change, infrastructure, renewable energy, labor, vocational training, smart agriculture, and waste treatment. The visit will contribute to the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and through Austria, persuade other EU countries to quickly ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement. With a great potential for stronger bilateral ties in various fields, President Thuong’s visit will open a new stage of development in the relationship between Vietnam and Austria.