AUSTRIA
Dr Julius Lauritsch, Austria’s Ambassador to the UAE
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan with the Austrian President Heinz Fischer at the Bateen Palace, Abu Dhabi, March 2006.— KT File photo
Strengthening HISTORICAL TIES Austria’s relations with the UAE are on a sound footing and the country’s exports are bouncing back from the lows experienced in 2009 Jamila K. Qadir
T
HE global economic downturn affected Austria’s trade with the UAE in 2009 but the indications for 2010 are more positive. Austrian companies still see Dubai as their most important hub in the Middle East, therefore trade and investment relations are on the increase again, according to Dr Julius Lauritsch, Austria’s Ambassador to the UAE. The historical ties, which bind the UAE and Austria were founded on common aspirations and the desire for peace as well as economic and social welfare, the Ambassador told this correspondent. Austrianpoliticianshavealwaysadmired the UAE for the progress achieved by the country in the political, social and economic spheres, under the wise leadership of the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, he added. This friendship between the two countries is characterised by a vigorous exchange of bilateral visits, he said. “I would like to underline the official visit of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Heinz Fischer, to the UAE in March 2006.
“Both countries look back on a long history of cultural importance. The cultural exchange is vast and I would like to mention the various concerts of Austrian orchestras, especially the performances of the ‘Wiener Philharmoniker’ in the UAE,” he added. He said the year 2009 saw a decline of Austrian exports to the UAE by 31 per cent. However, exports from Austria rebounded strongly in the first seven months of 2010, increasing by 9.4 per cent. Imports from the UAE declined by 10 per cent, however, on a small basis, he said. “Trade is back on the upswing and we expect this to continue as the region’s economies are recovering strongly.” Dr Lauritsch said the UAE had substantial investments in Austria’s oil and gas industry as well as in petrochemicals. Austria offers high technology in many industrial fields like machinery, steel, renewable energy, biotechnology and others. These sectors have also benefitted from UAE’s investments, he explained. However, he said, the current state of trade did not reflect the existing potential and that there was still scope for further growth in bilateral trade and cooperation between the two countries.
He said that there was a high level of interest in enhancing cooperation in healthcare, healthcare tourism and medical cooperation and predicted that renewable energy and environmental technologies would assume lot of importance in future. He sees these emerging trends being reflected in the building materials and construction sectors where Austrian companies have traditionally played an important role in the UAE. Austrian projects in the UAE The major projects in the UAE involving Austrian investments are progressing well. These are all large-scale contracts running into many years. “We do not foresee a major change and expect them to run as planned,” Dr Lauritsch said. “I think that the already existing strong and traditional relations between Austria and the United Arab Emirates could be fostered by more interlinked cooperation in the political, economic, social, educational and cultural fields and I encourage all Austrian partners to do so. “To a certain degree Austrian companies had to scale back some market expansion plans and that has also affected their Middle East operations. But as mentioned above, the growth in exports illustrates that the relations are on a sound footing and will continue to prosper,” he concluded. KHALEEJ TIMES SPECIAL REPORT
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