Austrian National Day celebrated in Baku
By Amina Nazarli
The Austrian embassy in Azerbaijan has organized a reception on the occasion of the country’s National Day.
Many officials, MPs, ambassadors of foreign countries accredited in Baku got together to celebrate the holiday.
In his remarks, Ambassador Axel Wech provided an insight into
his country`s development. He further hailed the ties between the
two countries.
The ambassador stressed the importance of boosting bonds in the
fields of economy, education, health and culture. He said there is
a growing interest in Azerbaijan among Austrians.
President of the Vienna Economic Chamber Walter Ruck, for his
part, spoke about the potential for expanding economic cooperation
between Azerbaijan and Austria.
He said Austria is interested in exchanging experience with
Azerbaijani companies, and stressed the importance of deepening
ties in the field of agriculture.
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 political 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, or 12.97 percent less than the same period in 2014, Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee reports.
Meanwhile, $293.27 million in Azerbaijani goods were exported to Austria.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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