The Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat met with the Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Carmen Goby, as part of H.E.’s participation in the annual conference of the business and export community in Austria, which is held by the Chamber with the participation of thousands of companies from the private sector. 

During the meeting, they discussed strengthening aspects of cooperation and moving forward in expanding the scope of relations, and enhancing cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries, in the presence of the Egyptian Ambassador to Vienna Ambassador Mohamed El-Mulla.

At the outset of the meeting, Al-Mashat affirmed the government's appreciation for the joint relations with Austria, and its keenness to expand the scope of cooperation to include more areas in light of the two countries' common visions on various issues, especially with the mutual visits of the leaders of the two countries.

Al-Mashat referred to the ongoing preparations for the convening of the 3rd session of the Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation between the two countries to reach new understandings regarding sectors of common interest, especially the areas of water, sanitation, energy, digital transformation, manufacturing, tourism, relevant training and areas related to climate action, based on the letter of intent which was signed between the two sides to enhance economic cooperation through the Joint Economic Committee last April.

H.E. explained the Government of Egypt’s keenness to strengthen cooperation frameworks between countries through joint committees that convene periodically with the aim of discussing ways to advance and develop bilateral relations in various fields, remove obstacles that prevent this, and support legal frameworks that would strengthen economic,  scientific and technical relationships periodically, pointing to the importance of holding a joint business forum that includes private sector companies from both sides to explore aspects of cooperation and stimulate trade exchange, taking advantage of the competitive advantages of the two countries.

For her part, the Vice-President of the Austrian Economic Chamber affirmed keenness to enhance all areas of cooperation with Egypt, and the opportunities available for the logistical link between the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the European continent through the ports of Trieste and the dry port of Fürnitz, and to benefit from this link to strengthen relations between the private sector and companies on both sides and strengthen Joint investments. In this regard, Al-Mashat reviewed the ongoing Egyptian efforts to enhance its position as a regional and global logistics hub.

It is worth noting that the history of cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Austria dates back to 1975, when the two countries signed an agreement for economic and technical cooperation, and after Austria joined the European Union, a new agreement for economic and technical cooperation was signed in 1996, and within its framework, two sessions of the Egyptian Joint Committee were held in Austria in 2001 and 2005. In 2007 a financial cooperation agreement was signed between the governments of Egypt and Austria, through which many projects were funded, and according to the letter of intent that was signed last April, preparations are underway for the 3rd session of the joint committee between the two countries.