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Mr Wolfgang Waldner, Hon’ble Foreign Secretary of the Republic of Austria, visited Sri Lanka on 30 April 2012. He met with Mr Basil Rajapaksa, Hon’ble Minister for Economic Development, and with Mr Neomal Perera, Hon’ble Deputy Minister of External Affairs, and inaugurated an economic symposium with Austrian and Sri-lankan business representatives. The talks focussed on Sri Lanka’s current economic situation and the opportunities for Austria’s business community in Sri Lanka. Waldner also promoted the implementation of bilateral projects with a total value of about 100 million Euros.

More than 30 Austrian companies are already active in Sri Lanka in areas such as energy, environment, hospitals and healthcare, infrastructure and skill development. “After the end of the civil war and with the recent revival of the tourism sector, there are new opportunities for Austrian companies also in this area which would allow them to contribute to the development of the country,” explained Waldner. Foreign Secretary Waldner is the first government representative from a Member State of the European Union who visited the country after the United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution on Sri Lanka. “Now it is even more important to intensify the dialogue and to explain our position in order to create a strong basis for the further deepening of our relations,” Waldner emphasised. The progress of the reconciliation process was another central topic of the talks.

During the visit, Mr Waldner also met with the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, for an exchange of views on the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Foreign Secretary Waldner welcomed the fact that Sri Lanka recently upgraded its Embassy in Vienna to a regional hub for its diplomatic activities: “This contributes to a further strengthening of our partnership and underlines the significance of Vienna as a location for international organisations and a door to Central and Eastern Europe.

Following the invitation of the Bhutanese Speaker of Parliament, Austrian 2nd Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Fritz Neugebauer, met His Excellency Lyonpo Jigme Tshultim and representatives of the Bhutanese parliament on 30 April 2012. Official meetings in Thimphu were followed by visits of Austrian co-funded projects such as the Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality in Thimphu and the Phobjikha Rural Electrification Project in the neighbouring Wangdue Phodrang district.

The Speakers and Members of Parliament particularly discussed the progress of democratization and rule of law in Bhutan and challenges of the young democracy with regard to the upcoming elections in 2013. While development cooperation has been the dominant element in bilateral relations between Bhutan and Austria, Mr. Neugebauer expressed "his support to deepen and broaden the excellent relations between the two countries by strengthening the contacts on a political level especially to support the democratization process in Buthan." He extended an invitation to Lyonpo Jigme Tshultim and to distinguished members of the Bhutanese Parliament to visit Austria and to engage with members of parliament on topics of mutual interest. All participants expressed their satisfaction on the fruitful and stimulating discussions and their willingness to continue the dialogue on concrete initiatives over the next years.

The cooperation between Austria and Bhutan dates back to the 1980ies. Austria has been supporting Bhutan in the areas of energy, tourism, cultural cooperationand governance. Total bilateral Official Development Assistance of Austria to Bhutan in the period 1994 till 2010 has been 67,26 Million Euro.

On 24 April 2012, the second meeting of the Indo-Austrian Joint Commission under the bilateral Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held in New Delhi. The Commission agreed on further concrete measures in order to foster the exchange of scientists and experts and to promote joint research projects. Both sides welcomed the constantly increasing cooperation in science and technology and expressed their satisfaction about the progress, which has been achieved during this meeting.

The Austrian Delegation consisted of representatives of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research, and the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD) and was led by Ambassador Dr. Martin Eichtinger, Director General of Cultural and Scientific Policy, Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs. The leader of the Indian team was Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Adviser and Head (International Bilateral Cooperation) in the Department of Science and Technology of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology.

Prof. Anil Bhatti, who is one of the most renowned German literature scholars in India, was decorated with the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art 1st Class, on 12 January 2012 by Austrian Ambassador Dr. Ferdinand Maultaschl. Prof. Bhatti received this prestigious decoration for his relentless efforts in disseminating Austrian literature in India and for his leading role in enhancing Indo-Austrian academic relations. Ambassador Maultaschl also decorated Dr. Kalyan S. Sachdev, medical consultant of the Austrian Embassy since 1975. Dr. Sachdev, who had studied medicine in Austria, received the Decoration of Honour in Gold for services to the Republic of Austria for his outstanding medical commitment to helping stranded Austrian nationals as well as for his assistance during major consular crises such as the catastrophic tsunami in 2004 or the devastating flash floods in Ladakh/India in 2010.