Austria's trade relations with Saudi Arabia reached new heights, evidenced by the success of the recent visit to the Kingdom of a huge contingent of Austrian businessmen. The five-day business-to-business meetings by a group of 25 entrepreneurs from Austria representing the small- & medium-sized enterprises in multisector with their local counterparts - which wound up on Wednesday (March 21) - were characterized by heightened interest from their local counterparts, Pierre Prunis, Commercial Counselor, Austrian Embassy in Riyadh, told the Saudi Gazette in an interview. During the group's two-day stay in Jeddah on the third and final leg of the group's visit to the Kingdom, which brought them to Riyadh for two days and one day in Dammam, the productive interactions with their Saudi peers were anchored on the high regard for the quality of Austrian products and services, leading into ever growing trade ties between the two countries, he noted. Austria-Saudi bilateral trade relations “have been experiencing a tremendous development in the last year,” Prunis said, which “exceeded the €1 billion mark.” Austria's exports to the Kingdom jumped by 38.2 percent to €534 million in 2011 from €386 million in 2010, while imports from Saudi Arabia soared by tenfold reaching €498 million last year. The most successful products exported from Austria to Saudi Arabia were industrial machinery, steel, special vehicles, railway technologies, pharmaceuticals, wood, paper, food and drinks. Saudi Arabia's exports to Austria consisted mainly of hydrocarbons. “Austria's reputation for quality and reliability as well as high technology provider were crucial facts for last year's success,” the Austrian commercial counselor said. He noted that though geographically Austria is relatively small compared with other European countries having an area of only 83,872 square kilometers, the country's products and services are renowned globally. With a literacy rate of 99 percent, Austria ranked 23rd on the list of most literate countries in the United Nations Development Program Report 2011. The country has a GDP per head of €30,174 as of 2010. It is also an investor-friendly country. In manufacturing firefighting vehicles, Austria in the world's leader, he noted. In an independent research done by Saudi Gazette, Austria's government website showed that the Austrian manufacturer of fire fighting vehicles Rosenbauer Group, which has signed a contract with the Kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in early 2009 to supply a total of 220 firefighting and rescue vehicles, will start delivery in several tranches, by the end of 2012. The contract value was for around €100 million. This year's multiple sector trade group is keen on looking for business partners in infrastructure, construction, wood, consumables, logistics and informatics, Prunis further said. The delegation is headed by the Director for Middle East of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Andreas Meindl, and is also accompanied by the Director for Foreign Affairs of the Styrian Economic Chamber, Wilfried Leitgeb. Styria is one of the 3 most industrialized provinces of Austria, with its capital City Graz, and plays a leading role in developing latest technologies in the fields of environment, energies, informatics and various industries. __
