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Austrian National Day marked in Baku

26 October 2016 11:54 (UTC+04:00)
Austrian National Day marked in Baku

By Gunay Hasanova

The Austrian Embassy in Baku organized a reception on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Austria on October 25.

After the state anthems of Azerbaijan and Austria were performed, Austrian Envoy Axel Wech greeted the guests and provided an insight into his country`s development.

He hailed the relations between the two countries, stressing the importance of boosting mutual ties in the fields of economy, education, health, and culture. He said there is a growing interest in Azerbaijan among Austrians.

Moreover, the ambassador recalled in his welcome speech that Austria will chair the OSCE in 2017.

Wech stressed that the settlement of the conflicts which are under the surveillance of the organization, including the ones in South Caucasus and Ukraine, are among the priorities of the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship.

Speaking about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Wech noted that Austria fully supports the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at resolving the conflict by peaceful means.

The envoy further said that Austria expects the visit of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in the near future.

From the Azerbaijani side, Parvin Mirzazade, the Head of the Protocol Service of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry congratulated the people of Austria on the National Day, wished peace and prosperity in the years to come.

The event was attended by the representatives of government agencies and departments of Azerbaijan, heads and staff of diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan, representatives of business, science, and art.

The history of the National Day of Austria is bound up with the taking the Soviet forces out from the Austrian territory. After the end of the War, in 1943 Austria was occupied by the four Allied powers (Soviet Union, United States, Great Britain and France) and accordingly divided into four zones.

The negotiations over a State Treaty ending this occupation could finally be brought to conclusion in the spring of 1955: the Austrian State Treaty was signed in May 1955 in Vienna's Schloss Belvedere and entered into force in summer 1955.

The Declaration of Neutrality was confirmed on October 26 by the Austrian Parliament, declaring the country permanently neutral.

Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Austria were established in 1992.

Economic relations between Austria and Azerbaijan encompass mainly the sphere of economy, agriculture, engineering, and technology.

Twenty Austrian companies already operate in Azerbaijan. They provide a variety services in the architectural sector as well as in the oil and engineering fields, supplying Azerbaijan with various equipment.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Austria was $350.22 million in January-August 2015, Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee reports.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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