UAE And Austria Reaffirm Commitment To Strengthening Bilateral Cooperation In Key Areas

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC's Managing Director and Group CEO, recently visited Vienna, Austria. He engaged in high-level discussions with Austrian government officials and business leaders. Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE Ambassador to Austria, accompanied him during these meetings.

During his visit, Dr. Al Jaber met with Karl Nehammer, Austria's Chancellor. He conveyed greetings from the UAE leadership and expressed hopes for Austria's continued prosperity. The discussions aimed to enhance bilateral cooperation based on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2021 under President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Dr. Al Jaber also held talks with Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Austria’s Minister for European and International Affairs. They discussed ongoing joint initiatives under the strategic partnership and explored new collaboration opportunities in priority areas. Key topics included boosting economic ties, promoting investments in industry, technology, energy sectors, and enhancing institutional connections for sustainable growth.

In another meeting with Dr. Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, Austria's Minister of Economy and Energy, they focused on strengthening cooperation in crucial sectors like energy, renewables, petrochemicals, advanced industry and technology. They also discussed infrastructure development and data centres while emphasising knowledge exchange in smart technology solutions to improve operational efficiency.

Dr. Al Jaber met Alexander Pröll, Secretary-General of the Austrian People's Party and State Secretary for Public Services and Digital Transformation. Their discussions centred on deepening cooperation in digital transformation across government sectors to boost efficiency and innovation. They explored accelerating smart solution adoption to enhance performance and align with both countries' sustainable development visions.

A significant outcome of the visit was Masdar and OMV signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate on producing green hydrogen, sustainable synthetic fuels, and chemicals in Austria, UAE, Central & North Europe. This LOI aims to scale up green hydrogen production and strengthen UAE-Austria energy collaboration.

Bilateral Trade Growth

The non-oil trade between the UAE and Austria reached approximately AED 6.7 billion (US$1.8 billion) in 2024—a 28% increase from 2023—driven by a 248% surge in exports like pearls, precious metals, machinery. Imports rose by 21%, while re-exports grew by 15%. In Q1 2025 alone, bilateral trade increased by 54.5% year-on-year.

The first quarter of 2025 saw exports more than triple compared to the previous year while imports rose nearly 42%. Pearls, precious metals, machinery remained key export drivers during this period.

The visit underscored the importance of identifying quality investment opportunities leveraging UAE’s strategic advantages such as its geographic location advanced logistics regulatory infrastructure global trade corridors.

With inputs from WAM