Maldives
The Republic of Austria and the Republic of Maldives established diplomatic relations in 1978.
Environmental issues such as climate change are of existential importance for the island state: it is situated only up to a few meters above sea level and its economy (especially its tourism industry) is highly dependent on a clean environment. To underline his commitment to fight climate change and to highlight the Maldives’ environmental vulnerability, President Nasheed organized an underwater cabinet meeting in the run-up to the summit on climate change in Kopenhagen in December 2009. At the summit, President Nasheed announced his plan to make the Maldives the first CO2-neutral country until 2020.
The strong environmental awareness of the government and the administration makes the Maldives a natural partner of Austria in various areas of environmental protection and green technologies. Potential for cooperation exists in areas such as waste water treatment, drinking water purification, solar energy and waste management. The common interest in a sustainable use of natural resources also opens up possibilities for training cooperation in the field of tourism. Austria already supports the Maldives with scholarships for the study programme “Hotel and Tourism Management” in the tourism school Klessheim.
The Austrian Honorary Consulate in Malé looks after Austria’s consular interests in the Republic of Maldives but remains under the overall direction of the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi, whose Ambassador is also accredited to the Maldives.
The Maldives are represented in Austria through a Honorary Consulate based in Vienna.
