The visit takes place when the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and ushering a new period of development cooperation.
As a small country in south-central Europe with a total population of 8.4 million, Austria is an industrialized nation with high social welfare.
Over the past decades, Austria has become one of the European nations with a dynamically developed economy and the world’s leading advanced technology. It maintained economic growth rate at 3.3 percent last year with an annual GDP per capital income of US$41,800. The impressive figure shows the strong growth of the Austrian economy despite the fact that Europe is facing major challenges arising from the financial and debt crises.
Austria was one of the first western nations that established diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1972 when the war was still raging on in the country.
Since 1995, the ties of friendship and cooperation have grown steadily through the regular exchange of high-level visits, creating a firm foundation for both nations to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields.
In 2009, when Vietnam and Austria which were both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, actively supported each other in dealing with some issues of common concern, especially in organizing open discussions on “children in armed conflicts” and “women, peace and security”.
In recent years, two-way trade between Vietnam and Austria has increased considerably to nearly US$108 million by February 2012, by 160 percent annually,
Vietnam mainly exports footwear, wooden products, garments, machinery and equipment to Austria while importing pharmaceuticals, steel, paper, animal feed and raw materials from the European country.
With 19 valid projects totally capitalized at more than US$50 million in Vietnam, Austria ranks 51st among 94 countries and territories investing in the country.
Austria’s official development assistance (ODA) and preferential credits for Vietnam have been used to carry out projects in the fields of railway transport, medical equipment, firefighting and vocational training.
On educational cooperation, Austria annually provides about 20 post-graduate scholarships for Vietnam. Seven Vietnamese universities have signed cooperation agreements with their Austrian counterparts
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and the Austrian Embassy are coordinating with the Vietnamese side to organize seminars and fairs to promote Vietnamese tourism in 2012.
Austria is currently home to more than 5,000 Vietnamese people mostly involved in different businesses.
The two countries are joining efforts to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Austrian President Heinz Fischer’s current visit to Vietnam stealing the spotlight.
The visit offers a good opportunity for leaders of the two countries to build political trust and promote mutual understanding among themselves and are expected to sign a number of trade agreements to boost cooperation for mutual benefits.
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